


Using future and brains

by 6coolaish6



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cursed Object, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Marauders Friendship, Marauders' Era, Phoenix Potter is harry potter, old story with twists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-06-29 03:43:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 46
Words: 233,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15721287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6coolaish6/pseuds/6coolaish6
Summary: This is a AU-where James Potter twin, Phoenix Potter(harry potter), is starting Hogwarts. She gets these feelings when she meets someone new and often has weird nightmares. Only when she turns 13 does she understand what those feeling and nightmares mean. will she tell everyone? how is she supposed to stop all the deaths and destruction in future? who will she turn for help? will Voldemort realize in time? She would love to find solutions to these questions, only if certain grey eyed, ridiculously hot Sirius Black would leave her thoughts.No rights on Harry potter-its all JK Rowlings. Just a musing that refuses to leave me.





	1. The Potters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going go a lot off book but will be using a lot of the main plot lines. Phoenix is going to be a lot more powerful and intelligent than Harry though. So she would do things differently. You know using her brain. Plus she is great granddaughter of Dumbledore.  
> 

“Come down you two or we are leaving!” yelled Euphemia Potter after twins.  
“Coming Mom!” came the twin’s reply.  
“Calm down Eup. We will get to Diagon alley. Hopefully they wont destroy the alley.” Said Fleamont Potter with a roguish grin. His wife shot him a wary glance and said “They get it from you, you know”.  
Twins raced down the stairs, laughing and creating a ruckus. They gave their mother an adorable innocent smile to appease her. Their mother just shook her head with a small smile and motioned them to continue.  
‘What else did you expect when you had Potter babies, Euphemia.’ Thought the Lady of the Potter family.

Fleamont, her husband, was an accomplished, yet retired cosmetic potioneer and entrepreneur best known for inventing Sleekeazy's Hair Potion in 1926. Euphemia Gemini Potter, nee Dumbledore, was a retired Culture and history writer.

Twins, James Fleamont Potter and Phoenix Euphemia Potter, both turned 11 just few days ago (on 27 March). James was fairly tall with hazel eyes with untidy black hair (looked almost like bird nest) that stuck up at the back.

Phoenix, on other hand, was slightly shorter with light blue eyes and waist length, usually tangled, jet black hair. Both the twins were very mischievous and had shown early signs of magical abilities. They were both natural on broom, which was a source of extreme pride for their father. Phoenix was a more of a seeker whereas James was more of a chaser.

James was boastful, loud and very enthusiastic, whereas Phoenix was sarcastic, cheerful and adventurous. Needless to say their childhood was filled with their parents on their toes.

The twins were very close to each other and loved to tease and prank each other. There would be times when without saying anything the twins would communicate everything. Both the kids were fascinated with muggle, non-magic, world and were often out in muggle world exploring. Both would often be found adjusting muggle technologies to make it work in magic world or in a way they wanted to use it for. They had a room full of just their designed muggle things. They would go to watch muggle movies, visit their various amusement places, learn musical instruments among other things. Fleamont and Euphemia would generally accompany them and would encourage them to know muggles. They were after all, a very liberal, powerful, wealthy Pureblood wizarding family. James was heir to the Potter Family and Phoenix was heiress.

As heir to the Potter family, James had to attend Yule Ball which was specifically for Pureblood families. This was a place for power display for various Pureblood families and prominent families among each other. This was also place where marriage and alliances between families were often made.

A marriage in pureblood families was not just marriage but a way to form alliances and showcase their powers. The marriages were often fixed at the time the children reached 15 years. Wizarding marriage was for life, where both the parties, heterosexual or homosexual, magic was bond for life.

Usually girls, especially of 28 sacred Pureblood families,  were married off as soon as they completed their education and their marriages were fixed very quickly after being introduced in the Yule Ball. although more progressive families would encourage their daughters to aspire for a job or follow their dream; and often let their daughters decide their spouse.

The Potters had unanimously decided that Phoenix would be introduced to Yule ball only when she turns 15 years old and the final decision of marriage, who, when and where, would ultimately be hers. Her father often told her that she should try for professional Quidditch. Her mother told her to do whatever she wanted to do.

James was very protective of his little sister (by 3 mins, but it still counted) but would be the first to tease and torment her. Phoenix had varied interest and would be seen reading various books on different topics in the Potter library whereas James was more interested in goofing around.

Both the twins were exceptionally bright, smart and curious. They were also given additional classes with his father regarding Family Magic and how to navigate the Magical world, especially Pureblood (her father refused to deny his daughter; although she was happy not be involved in politics, because _ughhh_...). Both the twins were given etiquette and culture lessons as well. They both also had tutor who taught them the basic of magic and general theory behind each subject.  
James was being introduced to the Yule Ball this year. He wasn’t very happy about it. So to make it up to him and buy their school supplies, as they were starting Hogwarts this year, Diagon Alley trip was decided.

The Potter family arrived at Leaky Cauldron Pub and greeted a happy but busy Tom. After leaving Euphemia struggling to get robes fitted for Phoenix, James and Fleamont moved towards Diggory Food Paradise to order lunch. James who was talking excitedly about his favorite qudditch team bumped into another boy. The boy, who looked James’ age, was tall, well-built, darkly handsome boy with fair skin, medium, lustrous black hair and striking grey eyes, and an air of "casual elegance”. His robes and manner screamed of wealthy Pureblood family.  
“I am so sorry. I wasn’t really looking where I was going.”, James apologized.

The grey-eyed boy replied with a grin, “That’s all right. I am Sirius.”

“Well it must be very sad to be ‘Sirius’ all the time.”, replied James with a straight face with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Sirius grinned and his eyes lit up; but before he could reply back, a regal woman with a haughty and superior expression, grasped his shoulder. The woman said formally to Fleamont,” Lord Potter, I hope you are doing well? I would like to introduce you to Sirius Orion Black, heir to The most ancient and honorable house of Black. And, this is my younger son, Regulus Arcturus Black.” Sirius rolled his eyes at his introduced but gave a formal bow to the Potter males.

Fleamont said formally, with amusement dancing in his eyes at Sirius’ reaction, “Lady Black. I am doing fairly well, thank you. It is ‘Siriusly’ nice to meet you, Sirius. Let me introduce you to my son and heir, James Fleamont Potter.”  
Before any one could say anything else, a loud voice attracted their attention,” Dad, save me. Mother is refusing to end the dress shopping spree.”

They all turned to see Phoenix running towards them and Euphemia walked languidly at a slower with a smile on her face. Phoenix hugged her father and looked up at him with a pleading face. Fleamont just patted her hair affectionately and smiled. Relieved, Phoenix turned to look at their guests and James, who was smiling wilding. Seeing this Phoenix stuck her tongue out to James; Potter family just laughed. They turned to see the disapproving look on Lady Black’s face, the astonished and intriguing look of the younger Blacks.

Fleamont turned to the Blacks and introduced Phoenix and her mother. Phoenix to surprise of all, did a very regal imitation of Lady Black, and said,” Lady Black, how are you this fine morning? I hope you would excuse my behavior as shopping tends to get me a bit riled up.”

Walguba(Lady Black) looked impressed and with an approving nod said, “It’s quite understandable. These are my sons, Sirius and Regulus.”

The mothers, then, started small talk. Sirius saw Phoenix tug her father’s robe and give a very adorable and pleading look which seemed to have swayed her father in agreement, who nodded. Phoenix started bouncing on her heels. Her father looked on in amusement. Catching James eyes, they both smiled.

Her father said, “Well, I am sure you ladies have a lot to talk about. I still have to open their allowance account. So I will just take Phoenix with me and James can accompany you to bookshop to get your supplies. We will meet you both at Ollivander’s. Lady Black, an honor as always, and children hope to see you guys soon.”

Sirius watched as Phoenix started to excitedly talk to her father about something and her father had a fond expression on her face and was laughing at whatever she was explaining, as they walked away.

James, seeing his attention, said,” She has dad wrapped around her fingers. My parents always wanted a daughter. Honestly, if she asked for a dragon, dad would buy her one. Right now, she is buttering him so that we get the Nimbus 1003. Do you want to join us for ice cream after lunch?”

Sirius and Regulus nodded. Their mothers’ have had their small talk, so they went their separate ways. James and his mom got their school supplies and sent the stuff via their house-elf, Meg. They met Fleamont and Phoenix at the door of Ollivander’s Wand Shop.

The shop looked empty and a bit creepy. They all jumped when a voice suddenly said, “So! We have the infamous twins here finally to get their wands. Come on, come on, let’s see which wand chooses you.”

They turned to see Ollivander climbing down from the stairs on one of the shelves. “He never stops being creepy.” muttered their father.

James went first and got 11", Mahogany, unicorn hair, pliable after trying few wands. Phoenix, then stepped forward, tried so many wands that the reception table of shop was buried underneath it. But Ollivander, only seemed extremely pleased and excited over it.

“Not to worry. I haven’t had a tricky customer in a while. We have got thousands of wands in here. Don’t worry we will get your match. Say, your maternal grandfather is Albus Dumbledore, no?” at their nod, he went inside his shop for long enough time, that Phoenix started wonder if he has decided to just run away, then find Phoenix a wand.

He returned bringing few boxes, and explained that these wands rarely chose anyone but seeing the conundrum, he decided to give it a go.

The first wand blasted through the reception table. With second one however, the gold, red stream of jet light flew out of the wand and Phoenix felt as if she her magic was singing. Her family whooped and clapped. The beautiful purple with yellow strips wand was 12”, Acacia, dragon heartstring, very flexible. Ollivander just looked stunned as he explained this. This prompted Euphemia to question about the matter.

Ollivander just took a deep breath, looked at Phoenix with a curious and almost glittering eyes, which made Phoenix uncomfortable and James came to her side in silent support. “Acacia is a very unusual wand wood, which I have found creates tricky wands that often refuse to produce magic for any but their owner, and also withhold their best effects from all but those most gifted. This sensitivity renders them difficult to place, and I keep only a small stock at the very back end. When well-matched, an acacia wand matches any for power. Dragon heartstring, as is well known is also very powerful and moody. I wont be surprised, if Miss Potter ends up doing great things in this world. The combination alone is astounding. Both the wand core and wood are very choosy and rarely do they accept a witch or wizard.”

After a stunned silence, where her family looked at her with proud and not even a little ounce of shock whereas Pheonix stared at the wand with mixture of apprehension and joy, her father simply said, ”Atleast it’s a combination of your favorite colours.” This broke the tension and everyone just chuckled.

After paying Ollivander, the family went for lunch. After which Fleamont decided to visit the potion shop, Euphemia dragged a grumbling Phoenix to clothes shop (muggle) and James decided to go and wait for Black brothers at ice cream shop.


	2. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its essentially a talk between new group of people of same age but different upbringing. Their personalities are not showcased a lot because just when you meet someone you just know the basic gist of their charater.

Phoenix stood in front of the mirror trying what felt like the 1000th dress. She grumbled and glowered at her mom, who shoved another 5 clothes at her with a smile and wink.

"Mom, come on! I already have clothes that would fill a whole new wardrobe on their own. Can't we stop? Surely we have enough clothes by now?"she pleaded with her mother.

Euphemia just told her that she needs one more than she is free to go and join her brother and his new found friends. Once her mother was satisfied with quality and quantity of clothes for her daughter, her said daughter literally ran away from her as fast as she could.

Tom chuckled when he saw Phoenix running towards the back wall and Euphemia followed at stroll pace with mirth dancing on her face. Tom inquired," What did she do to make you punish her in such a crude fashion?"

Euphemia laughed and said," She stole my wand and charmed all the flowers in my garden to sing at night."

Tom looked confused,"That isn't even moderate in comparison to what they usually end up doing?"

Euphemia explained in exasperation and fondness, "The songs started as sweet-background music, then proceeded to get vulgar and louder as the songs passed. We both weren't able to stop the charms till the twins came back next afternoon from sleepover at Longbottom's."

Tom started to crackle and just added, "Hogwarts is going gets its hand full when these two arrive there. I don't think your grandfather would be able to stop them either."

Euphemia complained,"Stop them. He encourages them. Those three have competition going on who can do more pranks on each other. Sometimes, its almost like I have triplets instead of twins. Although, McGonagall is slightly terrified of my twins, especially since they returned from their trip from Uganda." They went their separate ways.

Phoenix, meanwhile, breathed a sign of relief when she was back in Diagon alley. She started towards Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop. She got distracted while looking at Concordia and Plunkett Musical's new front display, when she collided with another person.

This someone was a boy taller than her,(Phoenix has seriously started questioning if everyone was taller than her) with sandy colored hair and amber eyes. He was wearing a sweater, had scars (which were cool, but must have hurt a lot), wore worn out jeans. He helped her up and smiled in a genuinely good manner. She got a very good feeling from him, not as the same intensity as the Black heir but good enough that she decided there and then, that he was going to be her friend.

 

"I am so sorry for running you down, I got distracted watching instruments in Musical Shop. I am Phoenix Potter, by the way." She smiled and put out her hand out.

The boy looked surprised but pleased and shook her hand, "Hello, Phoenix. That is fine. My name is Remus Lupin. And if I may ask, do you any of the instruments?"

"I do play guitar and have been learning Piano for a while now. I got interested when I saw, Dilion, a muggle, played variety of songs on his guitar. Piano, though is expected to be learned, has its own charm. Its fun learning music. My great grandpa always says 'Music is a magic more powerful than anything else in world.'. Although James has a knack at playing Piano. Do you play any musical instrument?"

Remus just kept getting intrigued with this black hair girl, who was Potter Pureblood. He dress screamed wealth but her behavior and the way of speaking was just so opposite to what he expected of wealthy pureblooded families. She was just so cheerful, friendly and nice person. Maybe he was wrong. He wondered what her thoughts on werewolf were and quickly dismissed it.

Instead he replied," No i don't play instrument or sports. It really isn't my strong suit. I prefer the company of books more than anything else. Who is James? And you have a friend who is muggle?"

"Of course, I have a friend who is muggle. Why wont I? It gets terribly boring otherwise. Plus, muggles are very interesting and intelligent people, a bit ignorant in many matters but intelligent nonetheless. Why do you ask? Also, preferring knowledge is not something to be embarrassed about. We all have our strength. I read a lot too. Oh, and James is my very elder brother. He is almost ancient compared to me." came Phoenix reply with a sparkle in her blue eyes.

" I am just surprised, is all. How old are you? Are you going to Hogwarts this year, as well?"

Phoenix face brightened when she heard he was joining Hogwarts this year as well. She beamed and replied happily,"Yes, I will be joining Hogwarts this year. I just turned 11 years old. Hey, I have to meet my very old brother, who gets cranky and grumbly, when kept waiting (you know how it is with old senile people). But why don't you join us at Foetescue's ice cream shop in few minutes or so?" Remus smiled and with fondness replied in affirmative. 

* * *

Phoenix literally bounced all the way towards the ice cream dreaming about chocolate with sprinkles and brownie. Her eyes met an intriguing light grey eyes, who was looking at her curiously. She waved at her brother and companions; and went to order her ice cream sundae.

She had small talk with Mr Foetescue and his daughter, who was a chef in one of posh restaurants of London wizarding world. After getting her sundae, she plopped down on her chair with an absolute relieved sigh started devouring her sundae. The three boys watched her in amusement. 

After a while, when she was a slightly satisfied, she looked at her brother and said," Well, Mum definitely got her revenge for the singing flowers." James just raised an amused eyebrow prompting her to continue.

"She made me try so many dresses that I don't think i need to buy any more clothes for my whole life or at least next few years. Bloody hell, it was almost as painful as having to listen to Mrs Longbottom go on and on about how a  _proper pureblood lady_  should conduct herself. At least, I was able to dose off in middle of her rant. Although, now that i think about it, it might have led her to give a new set of lecture which, again, I didn't listen. Why would she continue to give me her lectures when she knows I am not paying even a ounce of attention to it? Do you think next time, if i snort or burp really loudly, she would just give up on trying to make me a proper lady? She could have just given birth to another child, you know if she wanted a girl so much. Bloody stuck up Pureblood  _proper lady_." There were laughter and snorts heard all over the table.

Sirius looked impressed that a young pureblood girl was swearing and being just so unlady-like. It was like a breathe of fresh air; along with the fact that James looked like this was completely normal. Not like a Regulus, who was looking at her with a mixture of wonder and apprehension at such lack of manners.

"Well, its nice to know you two, I am the so-not-proper-pureblood-lady,Phoenix Potter.", Phoenix said with a smile. Her smile made him happy.

Sirius shook her hand and looked highly amused and replied,"I am Sirius and this is Reg. He is an year younger than me. I am joining Hogwarts this year as well."

Before any conversation could go further, Phoenix saw Remus making his way shyly towards them. She waved at him excitedly and informed the group about her newly formed acquaintance. Sirius and James looked excited, especially after Phoenix explained that he was joining Hogwarts this year as well.

Reg, although, took in second hand clothes and ragged appearance, was feeling scorn and disregard . Phoenix got Remus seating between herself and Sirius and began introduction. When James was introduced, Remus had a very confused and with an amused look on his face and he turned to Phoenix with a raised eyebrow with mirth dancing in his eyes. James picked on confusion and asked what was wrong.

To which Remus replied, in a dry manner and mirth dancing eyes,"Phoenix explained to me that she was meeting her cranky, grumbly and very old-almost senile-older brother, I didn't quiet expect you."

There was a roar of laughter from Sirius and Reg while James was playfully running after Phoenix. When he caught her, he started tickling her till she asked for his forgiveness.

Then James put his hand towards Remus and said," Let me make my own introduction as the  _baby_  of our family is incompetent at that (Phoenix stuck her out her tongue and went to her seat). I am James Potter, heir of Potter Family, but more importantly, elder brother of this chocolate enthusiastic." Remus just smiled and shook the hands. The five youngster then began small talk, which gradually morphed into favorite quidditch team, players, etc..     

"So Regulus, do you play quidditich?" Phoenix inquired to the youngest member of the group, definitely not smallest. 

"Yeah. I am a pretty decent seeker." Regulus replied with pride.

 

"Yeah me too..So who taught you?" Phoenix asked excitedly

"Sirius. He plays beater. He is very good with his aim." Regulus replied pointing to a smirking Sirius.

"You play, that's even better. I am chaser." James replied, looking like he would explode with excitement.

When they questioned Remus, his sheepish reply regarding the fact that he doesn't play was responded by Sirius," Pshh...you could be the commentator. From our earlier talks, I know you are quite knowledgeable about quidditch and have a way with words too." Others nodded their agreement. 

"So which houses do you think, you will get into?" James asked almost bouncing off his chair in excitement.

Regulus looked at him with incredulous look and said, "Slytherin, of course! Our whole family has been sorted into it since beginning. Just like yours has been sorted into Gryffindor." 

Phoenix just shook her head and replied,"Na, I am pretty sure I would be sorted in Ravenclaw. I am too bloody smart."

James gave a dramatic grasp and yelled," How could you leave me behind? Is this because I am better looking, smarter and taller. That's no reason to join other braniacs, Nix. Everyone is taller than you, even Regulus is just an inch shorter." By the end of his dramatic proclamation, he was shaking Phoenix's shoulder and fake crying on her shoulder. While Phoenix was laughing and clinging to her brother to stop herself from falling off her seat. 

Remus muttered to Sirius," Are they always like this?" Sirius, who was still laughing, replied, "As of now, yes! This seems to be their natural disposition. I met them this morning itself you know." Remus nodded while looking at the smiling faces of Potter twins with wonder, awe and fondness at such close and humorous  siblings. He was sure his Hogwarts years would be interesting, to say the least. He did notice, Sirius eyes not leaving the twins with something akin to longing and intrigue. 

James gave Phoenix a tight hug and said ,"I will still love you, even you become a 'Claw." 

"Of course you will. Who will save your arse from failing, if I don't?" Chuckling both looked at other waiting for their answer. 

Remus replied with shrug,"Probably Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw"

Sirius looked solemn "Probably Slytherin, as Reg said it's in our blood apparently."

 

"Huh." At that all 4 turned to look at Phoenix with curious eyes, although James just nodded and said "yeah" as if in agreement to a long held discussion. At this, others looked at James with  _'what the hell_ ' expression. Seeing this the twins decided to elaborate to their confused and slightly freaked out crowd.

"I said huh because..." started Phoenix

"...it looked like...", continued James 

"..you aren't Slytherin .." Phoenix added with a gentle smile 

"...You are funny, chilled bloke who loves to prank..." added James 

"You seemed alright to us." Phoenix said looking at Sirius in the eye.

" Even if you do turn out to be in Slytherin, that's all right..."

"....We would still be your friends....." 

"...And yes we often talk like this...." 

"...It's called twin-speak...." finished Phoenix with a flourish and bowed down with her twin.  

The rest of them stared at twins, but Sirius started to grin really wide with a hopeful expression and delight in his eyes. 

Phoenix directly her words to Reg,"Houses don't really matter when you are friends." directing towards Remus, she said," And if you do end in Ravenclaw, we could be in same house. Or if you turn out to be a Hufflepuff.."

"..Then we will rule the 4 houses. Can you imagine the terror we would cause for the Professors?" James said with glee

"...McGonagall is already stressed at thought of having just two of us there. Can you imagine if we 4 formed a group from different houses and pranked the whole school?" mused Phoenix

"Brilliant!" James exclaimed

"Of course, it was! I thought it!" mock hurt Phoenix replied.

Remus and Sirius looked delighted and gladly nodded their heads with happiness radiating off them, at such an easy acceptance. Regulus still looked like he wasn't sure of what to think about the Potter twins. After a while Remus left with a promise to write them soon and meet in train.

The group ordered a round of shakes and discussed random topics. Deciding to tease the elder brothers, Phoenix looked at Reg and spoke with straight face in a loud whisper,"So how much older is your brother than you? My brother, here, is 3 mins older than me. Practically ancient." 

Reg replied with equal glint on his straight face,"Well then my brother must be older than Nicolas Flamel!"

Phoenix snickered and replied," Na, I have met Nicholas, your brother is definitely older than that." Regulus collapsed in fit of giggles at the mock affronted looks on their elder brothers' faces.

"Anyways, what is the deal with you calling James ancient? He is only 3 minutes older than you are?" asked Sirius to Phoenix, once the laughter had died down.

Phoenix snorted and replied,"He loves to tell me that since he is the elder one, he gets to decide all things of my life. Git. Plus he keeps calling me, _baby_ of the house. Annoying prat. (playfully punching James shoulder) Well, if I am a baby, then he is the ancient one." James shrugged and smiled.

The conversation continued on till they saw their parents coming and parted their ways with promise to write. Sirius walked back home with a bounce in his feet and an invitation by Potters to spend a day at their mansion. He was thrilled at how the dreadful shopping with his  _mother (_ shudders) had gone. He was definitely telling uncle Alph about this. His father took note of the happiness of his son, and stifled a smile.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason why Remus half blood status was not discussed was because the twins dont really care about blood purity and Sirius is not very particular about it. Reg has issue with it. But doesn't say anything as he is the youngest and it isnt proper.  
> Next chapter would probably include Sirius visit at Potter Manor and his POV at things. I might venture into muggle world.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	3. A whole new world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just setting up plot for change in both Black brothers' POV about the world. Though Sirius is inclined but Regulus would show a bit of resistance. The Harry Potter flashback would start happening slowly when they reach hogwarts, so be patient. Also i have taken few liberties with muggle world.

Sirius almost fell off the floo network while getting out and prepared himself for the upcoming reprimand for his clumsiness. Mrs Potter, who was cooking in the kitchen, saw him and smiled fondly. Sirius blinked his surprise. She asked the house elf, who was wearing a beautiful dress with a bow tie on her head, " Please take over and bring some drinks outdoor." Sirius was shocked beyond belief that the owners were kind to the elves. Forget kind, it was almost like she was talking to her friend. The house elf, who he assumed was the head elf, told the other house-elves what to do and they all started to hum. It created a very pleasant and almost homely feeling.

Meanwhile, Mrs Potter smiled so genuinely to see him that he could feel a slow ache in his heart. She hugged him, like it was a normal behavior for an adult to hug someone else's child and said,"Welcome to Potter Manor, Sirius. My devils would have welcomed you as well but I got tired of them making a havoc in my kitchen, so I sent all three of children outside. Wasn't your younger brother going to join us? And where is your broom?"

"Three kids?", Sirius blurted out. He winced at his rudeness and non-existent manners. He wanted to make a good impression on these people, damn it. The twins, Remus and he had been corresponding frequently via letters since their meeting at Diagon alley. He liked talking with them because they seemed to not care about his blood status or anything; but were actually interested in Sirius, not Sirius Black. That was novelty in his world and he didn't want to destroy any chance of having such friends. He was berating himself but kept a forced outward smile on his face.

Mrs Potter just chuckled and lovingly smoothed his hair saying, " Fleamont is more of a child then my twins sometimes." Sirius huffed out a laugh. Realizing that he hasn't yet destroyed his attempt to make a good impression on parents' of his friends. He didn't think he would ever get tired of ever saying that. He had friends because of who he was, not what he could give them advantage due to his heritage.

He bowed down and kissing Mrs Potter's hand, said regally with a touch of arrogance, " It's an absolute pleasure to be invited to your beautiful home. My younger brother would be joining shortly, he had to visit a relative of ours. He will also be bringing my broom along with his. But, I am glad you have allowed me to come to your humble abode earlier."

When he looked up, he could see amusement dancing in her eyes. She hugged him again and said," No need for formalities in this house Sirius. You are my twins' friend, Merlin give you strength, so you are like a son to me. Be free to be as crazy and naughty as you like. Everyone in my family including my grandpa is." She handed him a cold beverage to drink while she went to check the kitchen.

Sirius, in the mean time, was busy checking out the Manor. He could see that it was a huge house with tall ceiling. But instead of furniture that looked better in museums than home, here there were comfortable chairs, sofas, a muggle television, in a round circle. The kitchen was large and spacious and was designed in such a manner that whenever Mrs Potter would be working on whichever station, it would rise up to her level. Otherwise it would be at level of the house elves. Such considerations for creatures who were not to be seen but do all the work, was not heard of. The main feature that really intrigued him was the amount of sunlight that was streaming. The ceiling of the room was enchanted to look like the sky overhead.

It was so bright, homely with photos of the whole families plastered all over the house. Several photos were of the said house, but there were several others that looked to be of foreign land with foreign people. So they were a well traveled family as well. The last time his family left was for the Diagon alley. Here it looked like they evenly divided time between places.

He was shocked to see so many portraits of Albus Dumbledore. The most intriguing one was the one in which Dumbledore was standing with his eyes glittering with amusement and love, while singing along with a 3 year old James, who was sitting on his shoulder, looking like he was singing at top of his lung. Meanwhile, Phoenix was playing a combination of a game of peek-a-boo and climbing up and down on Dumbledore's beard. This was not the only one.

Next one showed, Phoenix a bit older swinging by his beard while James seems to be jumping from his shoulders. There was another, in which she was being pulled up on a tower by Dumbledore using his beard while James was wearing an eye-patch, had a sword in his hand, and hanging by sledge of the window, bellowing his heart out. This was absolutely brilliant.

He was so entranced with these portraits and was just going to see the next one,when Mrs Potter spoke from behind,"You would think this is the craziest thing they have done.(pointing to the climbing to the tower using Dumbledore  _beard_  portrait); but this actually quite mild. Grandpa and twins feed on each other's insanity."

"Grandpa?", Sirius asked

"Oh, Albus Dumbledore is my grandfather. No one seemed to have adopted his genius or insanity for two generations. But of course, my twins had too." she replied with a resigned fond expression. "Come along, I will show you where the three of them are probably playing some insane game which will make my blood pressure rise."

* * *

The outdoor was very big and had a quidditch pitch, small tributary flowing through the side, an area dedicated to herbs and flowers, a huge shed which looked as if divided into few parts and a forest, which seemed to be inhabited by animals as well. Mrs Potter kept a running commentary explaining that tributary led to a pond which houses a tribe of Mere-people ( _they were friends with them_!); the forest housed several creatures muggle and magical alike, who in exchange for a relatively undisturbed (NO one can be undisturbed when these two are awake!) place to stay, they provided protection and knowledge of several kind; the yard was for all excess material, duel practice (their father is famous for his dueling skill as much he is for his hair and name) and broomsticks. It also served as an outhouse for house-elves (they need their own space after all).

The quidditch pitch though stole his attention. It was huge, almost comparable to real pitch with goalposts and everything. The twins,however, weren't playing quidditch by the looks of it. The twins were doing sort of choreographed swinging of sorts. One of them would swing by handle of the broomstick and then capitulate towards the other, who would grab both the hand and swing the person who would then do some thing of a back flip which would essentially be a arc over the person on the broom;and them facing towards the broom again. and would swing, jump, catch the broom and swing back to sit on the broom. While Mr Potter was just drifting around and cheerfully encouraging them. Mrs Potter sighed and just shook her head.

Suddenly the head elf, Mag, came stating something about food. Excusing herself, Mrs Potter went inside. The twins spotted him and landed gracefully on the land and each gave him a hug and were grinning excitedly. They started to chatter excitedly while Mr Potter simply stayed in the air leisurely zooming around. While they covered all topics from books that they liked to food that their mother was making, while munching on the food that the house elves bought.

Mrs Potter came into view and with her came, Regulus wearing dress robes and carrying two broomsticks, Nimbus 1001, the latest that there was. Sirius rolled his eyes, knowing for sure that his delightful mother has went this very morning to buy the best, costliest broom, after she figured we were going to play quidditch. He was also sure that this was the reason, why Reg had to wait before coming here. _Bloody pureblood superiority complex_.

After greeting, they all flew in the air. The team was first divided based on siblings. Although, the Black brothers were very good flyers but the twins surpassed them in coordination and natural atheism. After which it was elder vs younger, which was evenly divided.Then both the seeker had a competition to see who was better. Phoenix caught the snitch 3-2 times with some daring which were whooped by all and mild scolding by her mother (it almost felt token gesture as her eyes were brimming with pride). Both Black brothers looked at the Potter family with eyes akin to longing. After the games, they all had lunch outside under a tree. Mr and Mrs Potter left the quarter with 'Have fun in the neighbor hood' and ' Try not to prank anyone with magic. Be safe! And come back by evening.' The quarter decided to rest for a while, then leave for the next part of trip.

* * *

Sirius Black was in heaven. This is what his heaven would look like. He was sure of it. Oh, the lights, music, loudness of it all was enticing and very liberating. He didn't understand why even Uncle Al hadn't taken him here. He could have. Maybe because Reg would have blabbed about it at home, he was after all, a mama' boy. He usually didn't but he would slip up, more often than not. But even Reg looked delighted at this place. They were at  **The Arcade.**  

James and Phoenix already knew their favorite ones and went after it. While the Black brothers started to play every game they could get their hands on. While playing they talked, laughed and jested each other and other muggle children they met. It was very nice to see Reg talking to muggle children so carefree and non-proper way (for him at least). He could see appreciation for these kids.

Striking conversations with them was surprisingly easy and nice. He learned a lot about their technology, like they talk on telephone instead of mail (it was faster as they could talk right there and then; but had to book timing with telephone exchange);he learned about the fact that most of them had something called video game, somewhat similar to what was at arcade (they were competitive about it); they also had a lot of sports that they played (cricket, football, tennis... Although cricket seems to be ruling the contest); they also did a lot of plays, dramatics (which he found especially intriguing); had clubs for recreational activities like music, dance, art, etc. But the most surprising of all was that both James and Phoenix went to school with several of them and were top of their class. They were apparently very talented in lots of sports and recreational activities. 

The children explained that they were very sad that the twins were leaving for a boarding school out of country as they would be severely missed, especially the musical night. Those nights the twins played guitar and Piano, alone and simultaneously and the whole town joined them, followed by a town party. The twins were apparently great dancers too.

Amber, one of the muggle friends, who was doing the most explanation, said,"Since they would be leaving and probably wont be able to have any more musical nights, the town has decided to host one in few days before they leave. It will be fun. Dance, singing and a lot of games too! Plus Phoenix singing touches your soul."

Sirius asked between playing something called hoop it in (he was supposed to put a ball just slightly smaller than quaffle, basketball, into the hoop( which had a net for reason and was horizontal) from the ground)," Well, they would be here in summers, won't they? So, they should be able to play for you guys then."

DIlion answered, who playing Mario opposite him," Normally the whole family goes to vacation during summers. We generally don't see them much then."

Amber continued," Actually, they are out somewhere or the other the whole year but because they are geniuses and just plain brilliant at everything, they cover it up. Their mother's research takes them all around. For two years, almost, expect for coming to give finals, they were in Uganda. Before that they were Japan for a while. They have toured a lot of places. So don't really expect them to stay long here."

Sirius got curious about their trips, so decided to ask them. He found them in fierce battle in air hockey. The pair just spared him a glance and continued their game. By the time game was over, Reg joined them too. The brothers decided to finish their candy while they waited. James came out victorious and did a funny victory dance which looked like tribal dance with lots of jiggling. Phoenix was looking at James torn between hilarity of it all and anger at losing the game. 

As if just registering that the Black brothers were standing there, she exclaimed,"Oh! We should have a boogie tournament or something?"

James looked delighted and sized both the brothers and gave Phoenix a look that had both the brothers squirming in anxiety. Phoenix beckoned them towards a panel which had a raised stage which was divided into 4 colors. James explained," This is Boogie stage. Here we put a quarter and it will start playing a song. All you have to do is step on the box that lights up."

Reg nodded and asked,"Alright. So how do you win?"

Phoenix replied," You don't. Its just for fun. We will show you." Nodding towards James. They both stepped up and put in a quarter. The next few minutes were hilarious for the brothers because even though they were stepping on right boxes, the twins were doing ridiculous moves with their hand and were making funny faces. They ended their dance with James lifting Phoenix above his head with one hand. 

Taking their stand, they both looked a bit apprehensive till James called from behind, " Just go with it. No one cares here. Just dance, move, make funny faces. Have fun. Come on, shake it!" And they did. They both started slow but were swept in the insanity of it all. There were cheers, hooting and clapping around them. Sirius and Reg were dancing without fineness, without proper position, and with coordinated uncoordinated movements. By the end of it, Sirius and Reg were doing fast ballroom dancing with lots of spinning and dips. James and Phoenix were on the floor clutching their stomach. After this they were very hungry and it was time for dinner. They bid goodbyes to their  _muggle friends_ (can you believe it!) and reached a corner from where Fruity, another house elf, took them home. 

* * *

While they trekked upwards towards the Potter Manor, Reg nudged Sirius and he fell back to let the twins go ahead. As the twins continued on their animated discussion of what they were having for dinner and whether their mother would allow them to have bonfire with marshmallow or not.

Reg looked despondently at the state of our clothes (they both had played football and had mud and dirt splashed all over their clothes and body)," We won't be making a very good impression on the Potters family. I don't think they expected this much mud to be dragged in their house." 

Sirius looked at the twins, who compared to them were more dirty. He nodded," I really want to make a good impression on them. I don't think they mind mud, what with twins being as wild and adventurous as they are, but I don't think they would be pleased with their guests being so tardy. Guess we should prepare for scorn and scolding." He finished with a big sigh.

He really did want to make a good enough impression to be called back again. This family was almost opposite of what his  _family_ was. He wanted to know them and be with as much as possible. But given his less than perfect manner, maybe this wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He felt like a brick fell in his stomach. Glancing at Reg, he could see that Reg felt the same thing.

James bellowed to them from hill top,"Good Lord! How slow are you guys? Come on! I can smell food waiting for us!" They hurried up, not wanting to upset any more of their chances to these amazing, friendly people.

Once they reached Hill top, they entered the Manor house. The house was grand with high ceiling but didn't feel imposing. It was of gold-red streak with a huge Gryffindor knob as handle. His mother would probably have been sick just to touch the knob. _Prejudiced woman_. But instead of going from the front door, the twins steered us towards second door which was smaller and opened to a large circular room with 8 cubical smaller room, with a door at 90 degrees to their right.

Two tiny younger looking elf came inside and said,"James and Phoenix use those rooms, (pointing towards two of the cubicles; they both nodded) Mistress says to told Phoenix to properly wash her hair(Phoenix groaned and grumbled 'Damn it! She going to try and style my hair!'; James just nodded along side her; they both went inside their cubicles.); Master Black and Younger Master Black, please, go to(pointing to other two doors which were opened by the other elf) and clean up. If you are needing something, please yell, Misty and Yanky, will get it." Bowing down to them, the both elves took place at center. They both shrugged, went in and then stopped.

Sirius could see a warm bath was drawn for him with bubble bath and some aroma. His clothes from home were laid out neatly on a bench next to the door. There was a full length mirror with lines of skin products. Bath products, ranging from brush to foot scrubber were all laid out near the bath tub within hands reach. It was spacious yet so very inviting that he just shrugged out of his clothes and went into the bath. All he could think was that a piano music was all that was missing for it to be a perfect bath, when piano music started to play. He just closed his eyes and relaxed his sore muscles.

Sirius woke up when the water had turned a bit cold, looking at the clock on the wall, he was in the bath for almost an hour. He rushed up and hurriedly got dressed. He made sure to dress impeccably, he would avoid any further embarrassment, if possible. He almost pulled the door off it's hinges in his hurry, when he heard the door next to him doing the same.

Reg and Sirius looked at each other in horror that they both had left their hosts alone for so long,  _sleeping in a bath_. Panic set for both of them, not only were they going to hear it from their mother, but this was just an completely unacceptable behavior.  _They were screwed._   

In their panic, they failed to notice the elves who were smiling at the similar expressions of the brothers, so like their young masters. But they could see that they were stressed, thinking that they were stressed about not knowing where to go, Misty stepped forward and replied," The Mistress is waiting for you both. Misty will take you."

The Black brothers paled. Oh, they were going to hear the song. Gulping, Sirius stepped first into the living room, Reg followed praying to Merlin that to save the situation. Upon entering, they could see James and Mr Potter playing wizarding chess near the fireplace; Phoenix was reading a rather fat book while Mrs Potter was braiding her hair while humming under her breath.

Sirius didn't want to interrupt such a soothing and loving family time. Glancing at Reg, he knew his brother thought the same and had same longing in his eyes when he looked at the Potter family.  _What was wrong with their family that the most affection they have got out both their parents combined was a pat on the back?_

Before they could take a step back, they were blinded by the loving smile that Mrs Potter bestowed upon them and waved them to come join her. Sirius went and sat opposite Phoenix and Reg joined next to them. This was a novelty to sit on a floor, just because they were from the ancient house and all that. Mr Potter looked up and smiled, with more warmth in her eyes than there was heat in the Black house. The brothers sucked in a breathe.  _Why couldn't this have been their family!?_

Mrs Potter said soothingly, seeing their stress," Here, have some hot cocoa before we head for dinner. You are not feeling sore, are you anymore?"

At their negative reply, Mrs Potter looked lovingly at her husband and explained,"He says that its not right for kids to have sore muscles. They need their muscles to have more fun and explore. Plus, cuts needs to be healed as well, no point in getting them infected or worse. No need to prolong suffering when their is simple cure. So, he adds his famous body sore reliever and, cuts and bruises vanisher in the bath that he creates for the kids every evening."

The information that Mr Potter had actually made a bath for them, filled their heart with love for the man. The fact that he did it everyday, because he wanted his children to have a pain free night was amazing. 

They both smiled in thanks to Mr Potter and just waved it off, saying," Of course, that's what fathers do. I mean I am retired, the least I can do is make pain relievers for children and headache reliever for my wife. You two though have really beautiful natural hair. I mean better than the nest head here ( at James) and tangled hair there (winking at Phoenix, whose hair was still as tangled as they were before)."

Both twins looked up amused and just shook their head. Phoenix muttered, " Mum! Are you done trying to style my hair? It wont happen! Let it go!"

At that, both Potter males and the elves near them started singing a song at top of their voice, (Sirius assumed was muggle), "Let it go...let it go...!" while comically dancing to the singing abandoning their chess game. Mrs Potter looked mildly amused, huffed and went to get the dinner.

As she huffed, Mr Potter and James exclaimed at same time,"That was me!" 'No! It was me!"

"Mooooom....?"

"Euphhhhh...." 

"It was both of you!", came the reply from the kitchens.

"Aww...damn!", said Mr Potter with exaggerated disappointment. 

"We are in the lead, still!" yelled a triumphant James and stuck his tongue out to his father, who simply laughed.

Seeing astonishment on their faces, Phoenix explained," We have a on-going game since we were 4 years old. Whoever can make mum laugh/huff/smile gets points. The winner of the month cannot get scolded, punished or yelled at for first two days of the month or later even for things done on those days. Mum is the judge as she is the most biased unbiased judge. The score count is kitchen, you will see, and is recorded automatically. Come on, I will show you the dining area. Paa, are we eating at normal place or fancy place?"

Mr Potter, saw disappointment flash across Black brothers at hearing fancy place. He assumed that not a lot of people welcomed them with open arms and smile. They must have been always treated as guests or royalty. They were good kids, although he didn't think they were given a lot of chance at being kids, judging by their response after coming from the bath. He decided that he was going to make the boys feel at home as long as they wanted. He smiled at his daughter and said,"Normal should do." 

Phoenix exclaimed," Excellent! Then I don't need to wear these bloody robes. Come along."

Taking her lead, all the people in the room removed their robes and went into the kitchen. Mrs Potter smiled widely at seeing the Black brothers looking so at easy and relaxed, with happiness radiating out of their eyes. At least their stiffness and extreme need to be on proper behavior was reduced. Although, how anyone could remain proper with her two devils was anyone's guess. 

Sirius was delighted to see that the Potters all simply sat on kitchen counter where the elves brought them food and plates. There on the counter was the the "Mischief free board". It had two jars, one blue and other was hazel. The score showed 200-180 respectively. He assumed blue was twins and hazel their father's. It was such a sweet thing. 

Following the Potters' lead, he sat down on the floor and began to eat. After main dinner, arrays of desert were spread out. He picked out a waffle but before he could start eating, he got distracted when Phoenix and her father loudly proclaimed that whoever eats more pancakes will not have to dress up properly next day! Then they both actually started to swallow down pancakes after pancakes without any fineness. James was calmly eating his food and explained," We generally have a round or two like these with varying bets with mum or papa every other meal." 

Mrs Potter smiled mischievously and looked at Sirius and said,"Lets see who can eat more waffles. If you win I will make your favorite dish and if I win, you will help me in the kitchen preparing breakfast tomorrow morning." Sirius felt absolute delight and said,"It on!" to which the rest of the Potters replied,"like a donkey kong!". "Its a muggle thing" said both twins simultaneously.

Sirius and Mrs Potter began in earnest the eating competition. By the end, Mrs Potter won much to Sirius's indignation. He promised her next time he  _will_ defeat her. Mrs Potter just smiled with glint in her eyes.

Reg said with awe in his voice,"I never thought anyone could beat him in eating. He eats like a Hyppogriff." To which Mrs Potter huffed (Reg smiled at that and thought 1 point to me)," You haven't seen James eat yet." Among Phoenix and Mr Potter, Phoenix won and was doing a victory dance.   

After this the family and their guests retired to the living room and started intense game of exploding snap and Snakes and ladder, a muggle game, which Mrs Potter had charmed to have magic in them. The snakes would chase the player's piece if it crossed it; would swallow them whole and eject them at the start point; or the player would yell out war and fight out to see who would win; if the person got ladder he would sing obscene songs and yell abuses at those left behind and challenge those in front of it (when this happened for the first time,a sheepish smile from Mr Potter told Sirius that he added that instead of Mrs Potter). After few hours with several snacks in between and hot chocolate, they all retired to bed.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A sleepover and a nightmare is to come. Relation between. The twins would be explored more.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	4. Old connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is essentially Phoenix's brooding. There is a flashback of sorts to explain what happened to her.

Heavy _breathing. A gasp!_ Blue eyes, that looked almost like a storm was brewing inside, opened and stared up at ceiling while trying to control her breathing. After another futile attempt at remembering any part of dream apart from the wretched pain of loss and suffering, she remembered _nothing_. _Absolutely nothing_.

It will be 4 years now since this has started to happen and she just wished that she knew whatever that _bloody bitch of a magical amulet_ wanted from her. But no, it was being an absolute pain in the arse.

It kept giving her these intense feelings and fleeting flashes,sometimes, when she met someone new. Not all of them were strong, some were just there, for others there were none. Almost with all muggles, there were no feelings. She was not exposed to other wizarding families as much was because of these intense feelings she felt whenever she met someone from wizarding family. James was happy to be the one to go to balls, if it meant Nix could have a peaceful night.

She almost collapsed in Frank's birthday party after she was _cursed_. Well, not necessarily cursed. She believed it for now and until it showed her anything different, it was a _goddamn curse_. And, it better be useful or else she would just end up being a social pariah or the lady-who-winces-a-lot. None of them seemed like fun titles to have.

Since Frank's birthday party, she has avoided any and all large gatherings. When her parents realized that she had no adverse reaction while communicating with muggles, they took their slight friendliness with the muggles to full fledged friendship. They made sure to make several friends in the muggle town, so as to give her as many friends as she liked. They also enrolled them in school to stay in the mix.

Being friends with muggles helped as she had friends about whom she didn't need to worry about. It also gave her time to develop mechanisms to prevent from showing her reaction to people and get a control on her accidental loss of magic which happened a lot due to the sodding feeling. ( _Longbottoms' currently have a very huge hole on one of  their side walls. Mr Longbottom has refused to repair and actually named it 'claw zone', after the fact I would probably end up in Ravenclaw, so 'claw zone' it was. The man needs better humor. Merlin! Seriously that man! How is he married to one of the strictest woman, she will never know? Although Mrs Black might take the cake in the area. Now that she thought about it, she would probably just destroy the whole cake. What was wrong with these women? I mean Mom is alright, but that probably has to do with G3. Still....._ )

She could still remember the feeling of disorientation, pain and shock when she first started to get these _feelings_.

The feel of loss and absolute directionless she got when she saw G3; or the pain of longing, love and desperation that arose in her when she saw James; or just loss when she saw her parents; or the feeling of loneliness and regret when she met Remus; the feeling of admiration and confusion when she saw Reg; or worse was the absolute desolation, hopeless, heart shattering pain, guilt and love that went through her in shock waves when she saw Sirius. She just didn't know what the amulet was trying to tell her.  _What did it want from me?_ she growled internally.

The fleeting flashes that she remembered were more confusing and frightening. The only person she has been completely honest with had been her G3 ( _great grandfather, Albus, it was too long, okay?_ ) in a bide that he would know what to do or to understand what kind of magic was embedded inside that _freaking amulet_. He is ridiculously intelligent and his knowledge of magic rivaled throughout the world. His theories about most complex things were almost always correct, to the point of frustration of all the experts. But, G3 was as lost about the purpose of these weirdness as everyone else was.

That had _not_ been heartening to her parents (who were holding on by the teeth to keep faith) and James (who hadn't spoken a word) when she was camotosed.  She was told that G3 was besides himself when he saw her in comatose state with magic from amulet still whirling around her (Only he and James were able to see it).

He performed several spell diagnosis, counter spell, reveal spell; but to no effect. He left for a couple of days in search for answers but returned disappointed. Where he went, he didn't tell anyone. But knowing him like she did, she knew he went to see _him_ to see if  _he recognized  it or was possibly was the reason behind it. G3 certainty didn't think that he would care that he has a family still thriving. She was sure G3 thought it was a way to initiate contact with the family and probably to get to know them. To get power, G3 would say,_ that man _, always that man never his name, would be anything._

She didn't think that he was the one responsible for whatever had happened. It was just coincidental. Plus, he wasn't that heartless. He had been extremely glad to see them, a chance to know _his family._ G3 stayed behind watching  _his_ reactions to G3's family like a hawk. After talking with us(twins), he had a twinge of greed flash in his eyes. But unfortunately for him, G3 saw his interest in us and made it clear to my parents to not take us their anymore.  

G3 had looked pensive, solemn and disturbed for first time in her life, hell he had looked his age,when she 'recovered' ( she still isn't confident that she had recovered. Maybe on way towards it, but not completely) from that cursed amulet. He said in a grave voice with misty sorrowful eyes,"My brave, strong Phoenix. I wish I had the answers for the questions you have, but I don't. ('Even _he_ doesn't.' he said under his breath) I don't know what that amulet was or the magic it possessed.  I haven't seen anything like that before nor has anyone else heard of it. I have searched venues, rest assured I would continue to search. The few runes that could be deciphered till now, makes me believe that you have been bestowed with is a knowledge far beyond anything anyone could have thought about. I know you don't know anything new; and I think it's because your magic is preventing you from further harm. The magic was very powerful and on any lesser witch, the consequences would have been very grave. But you are not a normal witch, are you my Pirate?"

"If i were to venture a guess I would say that,  your magic feels that you are not ready and strong enough to bear its entire burden. It will come to you. Whether it will come in pieces or together at once, is anyone's guess. So I do implore you to talk to people you trust about this. They will help you cover from those who should never know about this. Knowledge is a powerful weapon, it just depends on who yields it. In good hands, it creates best defense and bad hands, it leads to chaos and destruction.  The magic in amulet was not completely dark but had a protective aura to it. I say not completely because there was a the black which I am not so sure about. I implore you to share whatever you see, feel, remember about anything with me. I will do everything, _anything_ ,in my power to help you live a normal _happy_ life." Promised his lovable G3. 

"In the meantime, I recommend you to start learning about magic, not spells but basics of magic. Learn what magic in essence is. You do have proficiency for wandless magic, as I can remember with your vanishing prank. I think Uagadou, magical school in Uganda, might be prove to of good use. They don't take kids as young as you. But they have accepted you both for couple of years. There, you will get private lessons from professors about basic magic, wandless magic, occlumency among other things. James can accompany you, if he wants. Although, I have a feeling he will love it there. Now while there, I would like you to focus on controlling your magic and mind. Learn how to do wandless magic effortlessly. Once the professors think you have enough grasp on it, you can come back. I also think Uganda's ancient magic may actually help to strengthen and heal you. Yours parents have agreed to take teaching positions in the school for the time being, so they could be close to you. What do you think?" Phoenix just nodded and that was that.

Some flashes were harmless like when she saw G3 on top of a tower looking older and worn down (a blackened hand which had to be cursed. She was bewildered that someone could curse G3. He was uber fast and managed to recognize any curse, apart from _one,_ at drop of a hat. Anyways she did start reading counter-curses for several curse old and new, just in case.). She saw James falling down, like he was dead (she had nightmares regarding that for months, barely sleeping; in the end, James just climbed in her bed and slept along with her for months till she was reassured he wasn't dying on her, _yet)_. For her parents, there no flashes, thankfully. The Frank she saw was screaming in absolute agony along with someone else. She wasn't sure who. The pain he was in, death would have been more merciful. She couldn't speak about it for days. The Remus she saw, fell down (dead?) in midst of a duel. Reg, she saw him being dragged by zombies type of thing inside a lake( that was haunting). Sirius. Sirius was smiling, had crinkling on his absolutely handsome face (which for some reason was haunted and he was very thin as if he had starved for days on end. She needed to make sure that didn't happen either) but was falling backwards. There was a curtain that seemed to have swallowed him. She really wasn't sure what that was about. 

Given what she had witnessed ,maybe it was a curse placed upon her that showed her how the people she loved/knew/saw will die? That is horrible. She prayed to Merlin and Morgan, for this to be not be the case. Because the curse refused to tell the time, date or even place. Just their deaths or last moments, she did venture. How was she supposed to stop it, when she knew squat about the actions leading to the horrifying moments?

Considering her talks with G3, this looked like a plausible explanation to his winding long, obscure one. It would also explain why he was so distressed. She won't be surprised if he had actually figured it out and was just waiting, praying, to be proven wrong. On the other hand, she could possibly prevent them from happening. Could she? Well, she would bloody hell have to try. She was not going to let them all die. No way! 

Thanks to her lessons in Uagadou, her control over her emotions and feelings were very good most of the time. Her hold on wandless magic was getting stronger. She was able to do magic upto 2 year without being too drained. She still needed to not be drained by magic. It wasn't like the feelings and flashes were there the whole time she was with the person, it was usually at the beginning and then they would vanish away just like my  _bloody nightmares._

She has been getting better. She started to read a lot of books on origin of magic, wandless magic, soul, mind, and anything and everything with old magic. With Sirius, though, she also felt an odd sort of bond that indicated in old magic. Although, from all what she has read and heard, old magic usually developed in stages and will present itself when it wants to. So she still had time to figure that one out, it didn't feel like a bad bond. Because really, it wasn't that she had anything else to figure out.

At least, James seems to have found a new friend who was in-sync with him. She could see that their friendship was going to be one of the epic. She was happy for her brother. He thrives in social situations, both of them did. But he seems to thrive on attention more than she did.

Sirius seemed happier than when they met at Diagon alley. He looked delighted and awed with everything; but especially with anything to do with family. James had noticed that too. It was mostly longing that reflected in the brothers eyes when her parents showed affection to the twins. 

It must be because of that troll of a woman, who calls herself their _mother_. The first time she saw her, all she could hear was her screaming in a shrill loud voice ' _blood traitor, shame on my flesh...._ '. She did look like she was a refined Banshee. What a nasty piece of work. No wonder, they both seemed eager to be out of her clutches. She couldn't believe how someone like Sirius could come from someone like _her._

Sirius was funny, respectful and eager to learn. He didn't seems to be one of the pureblood fanatics. Sirius had the charismatic alpha personality with fairly handsome face. His mischievous eyes were just made his face appear even more gorgeous. He had aristocratic look but didn't seem to dwell in money too much. Plus his eyes, they changed not just their shade but their  _state_ (solid to liquid to in between)as and when his mood changed. It was fascinating... 

 _Wait!_   _She is not talking about how nice a boy was looking. Yuck! What is wrong with her?_ _But at least it distracted me from her problems. But thinking about him did make her feel a bit at peace, didn't it? Huh! Well, sleep is a lost cause. Might as well get up._ She got up and went directly into the musical instrument room. A sad, soulful piano tune filled the music room. The song must have gone for hours, minutes or even seconds but the blue eyed girl had no idea. Her brother came from behind and placed his head on top of her head and wrapped his arms around her in a hug and a silent promise that he wasn't going anywhere. Once the tune stopped, she turned and hugged him seeking comfort and love that was radiating out of her elder brother.

After a while, he took hold of her hands and brought her outside near the flowers where  _Lentis flowers_  (magical plant which emitted calmness; it was used in making calming potions) grew in strength. A calm settled over them and they both sat in comfortable silence looking at the moon. The silence was broken when Phoenix said conversationally,"I should probably carry some of these to Hogwarts." Gently patting them on head, these flowers looked like small puppies. Phoenix always suspected that the reason why they were even planted, was so that the twins would stop badgering their mother to get a dog. Every time they asked now, she would just take them near these flower and be 'like there you have several now!'

"Oh please! If left under your care, they would die within days. Nix ,you are brilliant in many things, cooking and anything plant related, you are not. Please spare the poor plants."replied James in same conversational teasing tone. He slightly turned his head towards her and tilted his head to one side with a raised eyebrow.

Phoenix answered his unasked question," I still only remember just blurs of shapes and colors. So i don't know what it was about or who or when or where! I do know that it was impossibly painful and hurtful. This hurt felt like my heart was being shattered and I had lost all hope. I have never left like that. And I pray to Merlin, that I never do! That much amount of loss, pain...... This one scared me, maybe more than Frank's. But I still don't _freaking know_ what it was about. Maybe I loose someone? Maybe the Pendant person lost someone very important to him. I just don't know!" She threw her hands up in frustration.

James watched his little sister, the baby of the house, struggle under knowledge that she couldn't solve whatever it was. That there was something bigger, probably ominous that was working, that no one could predict or stop. They were just waiting for the next shoe to drop. During day, she was usually able to hid her this part of her as to not worry others; but at night, during these chats, she would confide in him. The frustration, anger, fear and horror at seeing the things that she was seeing and feeling. He could see that the guilt was eating her alive. She wanted to figure it out, especially since she saw him die.     

James dropped an arm around her shoulder and said," You can't feel guilty about this Nix. You don't know what it is.You don't know if you are watching future, past or even present of someone or yourself. You can't blame yourself for someone's else pain. You didn't do anything. When you do remember or get enough power to tolerate whatever that amulet magic wants from you, I am sure you would do everything to help that person and every other person you could from pain. The amulet person seems to have gone through a lot of suffering but the protective aura means he is nice. I will help you along. Our parents would do anything for you. Hell, G3 will move heaven and earth for you."

Phoenix hugged her brother for a long time (who was the best in the world), then said," Come on, ancient! Lets go to bed before you actually start to look ancient." At this James laughed, stuck his tongue out and they both moved inside the house with his arms around her shoulder and her arm around his waist. After seeing to it that she was asleep, James couldn't fall asleep. He kept thinking about that day when he really thought he was going to loose her. It was terrifying. 

 

* * *

 

**Flashback**

It was a normal day or as normal it could be when your mother is breaking some age-old curses trying to get inside a tomb near Hogwarts. The normal day turned into the most horrible one he would ever experience. There was a amulet, with wickedly cool shape and drawing. It had sort of a closed eye with eyebrow that could be seen. The eye was encased with a triangle with some lines going in a shape, that later he would realize was what he saw at Nurmengard. The amulet was cold and according to several curse experts there, it was absolutely useless. It had no magical property. It must have been necklace of someone from medieval or something. The thing was it wasn't the only piece like that, there were several. 

We just came in possession of it after it was passed inspection of several people. I held it in my palm but there was nothing. Phoenix, on the other hand,  was using a long beautiful sword to imitate a pirate we saw in muggle film, Peter Pan. "Ahoy! Mate! Surrender that piece of treasure! Haaa!", yelled Phoenix in fully pirate mode with sword swinging and everything. I gave it to her, begging her to spare him, keeping up the play. The next thing I knew I was being thrown away and Phoenix was surrounded by light. Gold, red, black light encased my sister and then it happened.

 _She screamed bloody Mary!_ Not 'oh! I hurt my little finger.' but 'someone is torturing me to death!'. I had never heard such a gut wrenching scream in my life before. I could see my mother trying desperately to reach her but the magic like a wall, kept everyone out; while my sister just screamed and screamed. I saw my father remove his wand, only to be knocked away. My mother, I don't know what she did, but next moment G3 was there and Phoenix scream increased. I could see her crying. 

G3 tried to disperse the magic with powerful counter curse(we all had our hair standing up at the power); but amulet just seems to absorb whatever it is. To my horror, I saw blood pouring out of my sister from small cuts that suddenly opened all over her body. 

"STOP!!! YOU ARE HURTING HER!!!", I yelled at the adults. They all looked at me, then G3 just looked at me and said," James, I need you to talk to her. Call her. Don't yell. Everyone else, lower your wand. Its only making this magic react negatively towards Phoenix." I didn't see everyone lower there wand; my mother sobbing inconsolably; my father looking like his world has ended; or that G3 had tears flowing from his eyes seeing his great granddaughter suffer in such pain.

All I saw was my half (as we call each other), and I spoke," Hey sis! Its okay. You are going to okay. Look at me. I am here with you. Mom-dad are here for you. See G3 came all the way from Hogwarts. Don't you want to tell him about the latest prank we pulled on Moody?" I could see she was focusing on me. Her eyes were terrified, filled with so much pain that i just wanted to hug her and hold her. 

G3 then stepped forward and said to Phoenix,"Stop fighting the magic, Nix. It won't hurt you." At Phoenix disbelieving look and frankly everyone else's, he continued calmly," The magic is trying to protect you from us but it didn't really harm you till I tried to separate it from you. It has tried to latch onto you, causing the bleeding. Stop fighting! Whatever it is, I swear to all the love I have for you, I will help you. Nix, let the magic in."

Looking terrified but determined and surprisingly calm, she looked G3 in eye and said," I wont blame any of you for whatever might happen. The magic is, I think, telling me to tell you all to get out of the room. G3,you, and James are only allowed to stay. Please everyone else leave."Phoenix was almost begging as if restraining the magic from harming others.

Seeing this G3 bellowed,"OUT! EVERYONE OUT!" and followed relatively calmly at my parents," You need to leave. She doesn't need to be in more pain than necessary. Go on! I am here. I will do everything in my power to keep her safe. Go now." My parents reluctantly left.

"Alright Nix, we are going to stand by wall but you would still be able to see us. Alright, now let the magic do its work." Phoenix looked at them, smiled and then looked upwards. I still can't remember everything from that that  moment except the Gold and Red streak went straight through Nix's heart and remained there as if absorbed by it. The black, however, was whirling around like a serpent, G3 sucked in a breath. When I looked at him, he had horror in his eyes and disbelief, as if unable to believe that this could be possible. Whatever this was, it had G3 terrified. I didn't like that feeling. G3 was the greatest wizards of all time. Maybe the amulet was going to harm Nix. 

Next thing, he knew was surge of power and they both were plastered on the wall. But there was a transparent wall preventing us from the on slaughter of the magic. I could feel my twins's magic in the wall. Looking at G3, I knew he realized it too. She was saving us from danger and hurt. The black swirl was gone, where I didn't know. Didn't care because at that exact moment, I could see Nix falling down face first to the ground. 

I don't think I have ever seen G3 run that fast in my life. He held her to his chest, I saw him checking for pulse on her neck. For a second, I froze in horror at the thought of my half dying. ' _NO! That's just ...NO! Please, NO!!!!'_ Then G3 breathed with relief and I could feel air coming back in my lungs. She was alive. SHE WAS ALIVE!!!!

G3 picked Nix cradling her head on his shoulder, hands supporting her back and legs. We both moved with determination outside. There were many people there but all i could see was Nix with eyes closed, sickly pale, still had dried blood on her body and was breathing with difficulty. My father held my hand and we portkeyed to St. Mungo's. There we didn't see Nix for a long long time. I was very afraid that I was going to loose her. I just couldn't think. I was vaguely aware that G3 was examining the amulet and apparated from there to, hopefully, find a cure.

He returned next day with a defeated look and just sat next to Nix like the rest of family. We all just sat their around her bed for days. The hospital had 4 additional beds for each of us. We absolutely refused to leave. Having Albus Dumbledore as G3 was very beneficial in these situations. Even G3 didn't leave. We all sat around her, talked to her, read stories......  

It was a month, 3 _0 days or 720 hours or 43200 mins....2592000 seconds....of a life without her._ It was hell. I sweared to myself that I would do whatever it took to make her happy, smile, laugh and be there in my life. NO ONE WAS TAKING HER AWAY FROM ME EVER AGAIN! I would like to see them try. I would create a havoc so bad that they would beg me to forgive them. NO ONE IS TAKING MY SISTER AWAY FROM ME! NO ONE! Thinking this ,he gave the blue eyed baby sister of his a giant hug, when she _finally, FINALLY,_ opened her eyes. 

  **end of flashback**

          

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore or G3 is a tad bit different than he was in books. In books, he had already sort of lost his family. Here he had a full fledged family who he loved a lot.  
> Also the 'he' mentioned often would be revealed later. Although i have feeling you all would have guessed it already.  
> Next chapter, I'm thinking about writing from Reg POV.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	5. Changing views

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reg's pov. This part is divided in two because it just went very long.

Reg slowly woke up and smiled when he saw the view. Sun shining down the river making it glitter pleasantly, quidditch pitch looking beautiful, birds chirping in the forest. It was peaceful. He smiled.

It has been a while since he slept in this late. He turned his head to look at the other occupants of the room. And..it was _empty.....oh...bugger!....he slept late....he is sleeping late as a guest...._  He rushed to get ready and then headed down. He entered the kitchen and paused at the scene.

There at the kitchen was Mrs Potter and Sirius were by the stove cooking and Phoenix was looking at them with mild amusement from the comfy sofa. Mrs Potter was wearing an apron which was hot pink with words 'Hot damn!!' above picture of omelette. Sirius was wearing an neon colored frilly apron with a old gentlemen saying "Gluttony has been removed from sin list. You must eat!'.

They both were humming and laughing at each other as Mrs Potter taught Sirius how to cook. Mrs Potter looked up, seeing him, smiled and called both of them for breakfast.

Phoenix went to stand next to Sirius and critically eyed the food. She looked impressed and took a bite out of the plate that Sirius had set out for her, _himself_.( _His brother didn't move an arm in the house and here he was doing domestic chores with a smile._ ) His brother looked a tad bit nervous as he waited for Nix to swallow her first bite. _This was new._ Normally, his brother would not give half rat's ass to what anyone said, but with Nix, he was different. He was still old goofy him but was actually gentle and _sweet_  when it came to her _._ He didn't think it was conscious effort on Sirius's part. It just came naturally. His brother didn't do _sweet_ , it was against his need to look cool. 

Phoenix let out a very happy sound after tasting the food and said,"I declare you the chef of the group!! 'Siriusly' this is brilliant. I can't cook to save my life. But you, my man, cook food that tastes like heaven. Just _brilliant_!!" And she started to eat with gusto.

His brother _blushed_  ( _what was happening?_ ) and had a 'siriusly' ( _twins were a bad influence. Now even he had started to talk in puns. His mother was going to roast him alive._ ) satisfied and proud. Well, who knew his brother could _blush_. He has seen him at several Yule balls, there are several women, girls or even some guys, who have gushed/fawned about him, and his brother didn't bat an eye. And one compliment from _her_ , and he is a blushing bride. He cocked an eyebrow at his brother, who simply stuck his tongue at him and told him to a get a move on and sit. 

Reg bit his lip in amusement and took his plate with a smile from Mrs Potter. Reg could understand what Nix was going on about, the food  was absolutely delicious. "Merlin brother, had I known you could cook so well, I would have asked that as birthday present!" He looked to see Sirius looking very happy. Then, he had suspiciously misty eyes when Mrs Potter said, "Sirius, love, they are not joking. This absolutely brilliant. And to be cooking for the first time too! I am so proud of you!!" while lovingly running her finger through Sirius's hair.  She hugged him. Sirius looked like he was in heaven.

The kitchen side gate opened and James and Mr Potter came in with identical wind blown hair, hazel eyes and smiling their crooked smile. They were both sweating at which Nix muttered,"At least, _scourgify_ yourself. You are destroying the heavenly food smell!" Mr Potter chuckled and said," Well, if its the heavenly food smell." He cleaned both of them and sat down for breakfast. They piled up their plate and started eating. 

"Merlin! Mom, did we get a new elf? If we did, make sure to have that elf cook all the time because this is bloody delicious!" exclaimed James as he tried to shove all the food in his mouth at once. Reg had a strong urge to chide him to slow down before he crocks out. 

Mr Potter hummed in agreement and continued to devour the food, almost identical to James, while Mrs Potter looked on at the pair in amusement and replied proudly," No, no. It wasn't a new house elf or me (thank you for assuming it wasn't me, by the way!) but an absolute amazing person who cooked the food!" pointing at Sirius, who turned an amazing scarlet shade.

James had his mouth open in disbelief and Sirius, like the sneaky git he was, closed his mouth saying, " Lemme close that for ya." 

Every one started to laugh. It was nice to laugh so carefree. To have a family who didn't' care about gender roles or societal pressure or dining rules when it was just them. To have a family who was was just happy that their children enjoyed whatever it was they did. He had seen enough discussion between Potters to know they didn't suppress opinion or curiosity, rather allowed it to flow free. They all gave each other their opinions and respected other's viewpoint. 

This he couldn't see happening in his family. Any different thought by anyone was not welcomed. It was frowned upon. He wondered if any member of his family even had a carefree breakfast like Potter seems to have everyday. Possibly Uncle Al. He was great but considered an outsider by his family for his pro-muggle views. Honestly after meeting the muggles, he could see Uncle Al's view. The muggles weren't dirt or scum of earth. They were genuinely nice people. He could see the love and care all of them had for the twins, which was extended to them as well. There were no biases, no judgement; just acceptance. Dilion had even commented," Potter family is considered as a bunch of eccentric people but good people, none the less."

He wondered why his family was so against the idea of muggle-born? Was it maybe because muggle-born were less powerful than us? That can't be true as Albus Dumbledore was a half blood. He was the most powerful wizard of his time. According to Aunt Basalda, muggles had stolen our magic. But how is that possible? If that was possible, won't everyone do that? He needed to ask these questions but he was sure the answer would be ' they are beneath us'. But surely that can't be enough to rally against muggles. What about this Dark Lord that had Bella gushing like a  _girl_ ( that sight had disturbed both him and Sirius a lot)? He wanted magical people to rule the world? But why? We didn't understand muggles in same way that muggles didn't understand magic. Why rule, when we could peacefully co-exist? Maybe changing wizarding world was required but why kill or torture muggles?  Nix was right, what was the point of killing muggles when they weren't involved in the war in any way, what-so-ever?

As he contemplated, he looked at the Potters and thought that maybe being liberal was not such a bad thing. The Potters treated everyone, no matter who, with respect, love and affection. The house elves were treated like people and friend. They were given out houses, so that they could have their own _space_. Mr Potter had specifically invented and designed spells to make it easier for elves to work. He could see the difference, the house elves did everything with gusto and so much merriment. The house rang with their happiness. There were so many of them. it was almost a platoon of house elves. James explained that several of the elves were the one who were let go or didn't have a family. The Potters were rich enough to support them. Hell, they paid them 10 sickle per month and 1 day leave too. In contrast to heads of elf that was stuck on our staircase, this must be elves heaven.

They were respectful of magical creatures and treated them with respect. He saw James wave hello to Centaurs who gave him a smile. While Phoenix was petting baby unicorn, she has name Olaf. They have even boarded the forest against wandering wizards, who hunted these magistic creatures for fun, and  lost muggle people.

The merepeople in lake treated the Potters as equals for their help and consideration. This all was unheard of. This family was genuinely nice. He could see in the smile bestowed upon him and his brother, that they were smiling because they were happy to see them or be with them. Not the calculating smile, they both have become accustomed to. 

The family relation was even more admirable. The father of the family was not just present in their day to day but would let them make decisions and guide them along. He didn't decide the rule of the house. He was there to help if they needed, but he let them be. He made potions to help his kids, he made bath, played with them, had ongoing competition to make Mrs Potter laugh most (this was so sweet. Huh? Maybe it was a Potter effect to be sweet.), he played pranks with and on them, and he was loving and caring husband, who wasn't afraid to show his love. 

Then there was Mrs Potter. She was definition of mother but at same time, loved to prank and tease her kids and husband. She is one of the most popular cultural expert and leading curse breaker. At the same time, she loved trying and failing every day to tame her daughter's hair, teach James cooking( one of them should know, how else will they survive?). She treated Sirius and Reg with more kindness and love than their mother had ever. Honestly, he thought that he got more hugs here in a day than he did back home ever. She wasn't strict about being proper. She was fine with twins coming home covered completely in mud, playing quidittich, doing their 'circus moves', sleeping in late or even cusing... Nix explained to him that she expected them to be on proper behave when meeting with 'pureblood' purebloods or members of the wizarding world.

That was other thing he learned, apparently the people he was in contact with didn't really want to have any outside connections. The other purebloods' regularly met in informal parties with several other half bloods and muggle born. Their children had sleepover at each other's place, they all went to trips together, played together, among other things. They were already like an extended big family.

They didn't go to stuffy parties where you weren't allowed to show emotions and were only allowed sneer at other people. Even birthday parties were about showing of power and prestige, not fun and games. _Never fun and games._ He could never have imagined that he would do such silly dance moves as he did on that muggle DJ and he would enjoy it immensely. 

James, well James was so similar to his brother. Maybe it was a big brother thing or like Nix would call ancient thing. James was very protective of his sister but he would let her do her own thing. But, if it looked like she needed help, he would be there in a second. He was funny, strong, absolute goofball and intelligent. He wasn't as intelligent as Nix, but that maybe because he was more lazy. He was an amazing cook, almost comparing to Sirius (Mr Porter jokedly said "maybe we should open a restaurant,huh?" Both boys looked eager)  He had a protective aura, like he wanted to protect everyone from everything bad.

Then there was twin-speak. That gave him vertigo's sometimes. The twins wont be in the same room and one of them would come and just finish the first ones sentence. It was fascinating. They would look at each other and know what other thought.

Phoenix, or Nix, was an outgoing girl, who was brilliant, beautiful and a natural at most things. She did look upset or sad sometimes but he didn't know why. She was absolutely horrid when it came to cooking. She almost burned the whole house down while trying to make a toast. Since then no one allows her near kitchen, elves are fairly particular about it. One of them is always at kitchen, in case she needs to eat something at night too. She was funny, sarcastic, loved to joke around. She had immense knowledge about magic basics in general. She went to Euro-Glyph School of Extraordinary Languages, London, to learn Latin, Mali and Butanic language. She was already fluent in English, French and Mere-speak too, apparently. She cursed more than anyone he had met. But was sweet, caring and brought out a side of his brother, that even he hadn't seen. 

In all, he thought, decision to meet them was a good one. He placed his clean plate at the sink, thanked the house-elves for their help and went to join the others in game of exploding snap on the floor. They were all crackling at James who had lost half his eyebrow and was wiggling it comically, when the floo fire lit green and his mother and father stepped out regally. 

Instead of feeling happy at seeing his parents, he felt dread at the thought of going back  _home,_ where everything was proper and there were no laughs. Glancing at Sirius, he realized that he was feeling the same.

They all got up and brushed their robes, while Nix went ahead (wearing a casual top and shots, that looked good on her) and welcomed the Black Lord and Lady formally. Reg was impressed that the girl who could curse mile an hour, was just as polished in formal speak as any of them were. He saw Sirius looking at Nix with admiration and something else in his eyes. He looked up to see Father take in Sirius's reaction to Nix with a twitching lips. 

He turned his attention to his parents, his father and mother, both, looked impressed by Nix, despite her wearing muggle clothes ( she did win the bet yesterday). That was an achievement. For his parents not to sneer down at her for giving in to muggle clothes. What shocked them more, was when my dad and twins' dad instead of a formal handshake, gave each a hug.  _Wait, What? How? What? When....huh..brain freeze...._  His brother looked like his mother has  started to perform cha-cha spontaneously in front of the muggles. 

"Welcome my friend. How have you been? Huh, grown fat, I see." teasingly welcomed Mr Potter to my father,  _who smiled._

"At least my hair is still perfect." replied his father  _teasingly with laughter in his eyes._ ( _He has died. That is the only explanation_ ) At this, Nix snorted. His father looked at her questioningly, and she replied with a grin," These two (pointing to sheepish looking James and thunderstruck Sirius) had exact same argument yesterday." At this everyone laughed, except my mother who looked displeased.

Seeing the expression on his sons face, my father explained with a  _fond_ smile," This nest-hair here (cue Mr Potter's mock affront) and I have been in several business deal. We found we had many common interests and became fast friends. Much like you four bunch, I suppose." His father  _chuckled. Did someone trip and changed the universe?_

My mother didn't seems to like that and when she saw the hordes of elves (who were seen doing work. A good elf did all the work but was never seen), her face became pinched. "Well, it has been lovely but we have prior engagement to attend to. Come on you boys. Mr and Mrs Potter, a pleasure." saying that she swept up the floo system. Nix was biting her lips to keep herself from laughing, so was James. _Bloody twin-speak._

My father kissed Mrs Potter on cheek, hugged Mr Potter, ruffled James hair (and _chuckling_ when it remained same) and actually bend down to give Nix a  _warm hug_ ; left saying pointedly to Mr Potter," I always wanted a daughter." and left. 

Mr Potter started to laugh, muttered 'at least they have one of them in agreement'. At confused look of the children and amused look of Mrs Potter, he bent down to hug both the boys. Mrs Potter hugged both of them really tight and said," You both are always welcome here. No matter time and day." 

"If your mother doesn't disagree, ask your father. He would agree.", supplied Mr Potter still looking oddly amused for no reason at all. The children hugged each other. When Reg turned to go, he saw Sirius bending down to kiss Nix on cheek swiftly and running towards the floo. And he was gone. Nix looked surprised but shrugged. Mr and Mrs Potter looked ready to burst out laughing, at what he still had no idea. ( _He has died. How else could anyone explain this morning?)_  Thanking them once again, he left their beautiful, lovely home.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Mr Black was a twist. Honestly, it wasnt going to be like that but it happened and I am happy that it did.  
> Reg likes to see both sides, though he is siding with muggles for now, will he continue to do so later? I dont know.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	6. Changing views-2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reg POV-2

Maybe going to Potters was a mistake because now his  _home_ felt more like a  _prison_ than anything else. 

What was surprising, was their father. He had actually started to talk more to them, and not in the stiff '' I am Lord Black and you will listen to me' but instead in ' i am your father, so lets talk'. They both were bewildered at that but decided to not poke the bubble.

Their mother, on the hand, had become absolutely miserable to be around. She would rant and shriek at hours about how Potters were corrupting her family. She never said this when father was around. She also started saying how Potters have turned their back to their heritage and were becoming flith themselves by becoming friends with  _muggles (she would spit the word out like a curse word)._ And they were letting their children study at muggle school. The incredulity of it all. Making their hiers learn the garbage that muggles teach. What would the hier know about magic, they have lost their mind. ("Are you sure, its them, mother,  that have lost their mind? Not you?", came dry response of his brother, who was then promptly sent to his room in punishment. How _that_ was punishment, he would never know.) 

But she made it point to make both of them read pureblood ideology and books for hours and would quiz them later. She won't let Sirius skip it at all. Her continued presence seemed to be better punishment as he would pass with ace and walk out with that grace. She would on some days start bad mouthing muggles or Potter's parenting. The last part unfailing got Sirius to mouth her off and he would be sent to his room as _punishment_. He wondered if his mother actually caught what his brother was doing. Anyways, this left him to his mother's ranting. He was developing a 'Sirius' ( _damn those Potters_ ) case of headache.

His mother has, also, started to invite several of the Scared 28 families quite frequently . What was more curious, the visiting families were only those who had girls around Sirius age. Sirius was miffed at that.

Although Reg failed to understand, why? It wasn't like they were being bad guests. They were all very nice, courteous to them ;and would draw towers of praise about Sirius. This, in fact, infuriated him more. He would rant at Reg about how the girls would not leave him alone and they kept _talking._ Their father heard that rant and looked very amused.

It became even more weird when Mr Potter, who was returning from some work, decided to just drop by. Just like that.  _Even our father's brother asked permission before coming over._ His father greeted him  _happily._ He was in alternate reality.

But that wasn't what was curious. Mr Potter came in with Nix. After all Sirius's rant about girls not leaving him alone. He literally shouted in joy and swept her in a hug and then proceeded to drag her off to show her our house, talking her ears off. Father and Mr Potter looked at each other and laughed. They settled down to talk while Sirius showed Nix the house. After a couple of hours, father asked Reg to get them. 

He found them in  _his room_. NO girl was allowed in his room. All the girls were simply shown the first floor where living room of sorts was there and that was that. And there was Nix, casually lounging on bed playing a muggle game, UNO, while she was explaining with enthusiasm about a football game in which she scored two goals. Sirius was listening with rapt attention with a smile on his face. Reg just couldn't understand what was happening. He cleared his throat which got their attention.

"Here I thought you actually were my friend and you leave two hours with this buffoon. Really Reg, why would you do that?", said fake crying Nix on Sirius's shoulder while Sirius patted her back in fake support with amused expression. Reg just rolled his eyes,  _these two, honestly._ They both got up.

'Show us, the  lost souls, the way", motioned Sirius

"Oh! gallant warrior!" said Nix, batting her eyes.

Laughing at their antics, he lead them down while chatting with Nix with Sirius following by side, one of his hands rested at her back. Sirius had almost a content smile on his face. When they entered the room, father said, "Oh good, you guys are back."

"Well we had a gallant warrior to show us the path." said Sirius saluting Reg, who rolled his eyes while laughing

"How could we be ever lost?" clutching her heart at such a possibility, asked Nix. 

His father  _laughed_ , not a small huff we usually got out him but a full  _belly laugh_. He simply hugged three of them. Both the brothers stiffened at never being hugged by their parents before and then slowly almost melted in the embrace. They didn't even realize when Nix left the hurdle and went to stand next to her father. After a while, they broke apart with small smile on their face. 

"Well, I actually dropped by to invite you all to a small get together we are having before my twins treat us with their musical performance. You are, of course, invited to the muscial show. Although, the musical show will be hosted in muggle town with our muggle friends. We understand if you don't want to stay for the concert; but maybe, let the boys have a sleepover?" asked Mr Potter to our father

Father looked at us and both of us knew that we had a pleading look,  _and Blacks never pleaded,_ but they just didn't care. Their father looked at them for a while and then looked at Mr Potter, smiled and said," We would love to come to your party and, if its okay, go to muggle town. Dont worry we will all be in muggle attire for the evening." No one knew who had donned look of shock better, the children or Mr Potter. Although,  Mr Potter recovered first and smiled, nodded then they left. 

Father turned to look at Sirius, who trying and failing,  _miserably he might add,_ at trying to not bursting out of happiness at the possibility. Father smiled at Sirius with a knowing smirk, and said 'dress smart, if you want to impress _them'._ Sirius definitely looked freaked out by his father's reaction and was a bit pink in his cheeks. Reg still didn't understand the subtle unspoken conversation that was going around in the house.   

Sirius smile was blinding. His mother's shriek were as deafening. She out right refused, to which father simply said, " Then you can stay here while we all go. Your wish. We leave at 6'o clock sharp." and left. Leaving them all gobsmacked. Father was doing that a lot as well. Mother looked like a she was going to explode and they both sneaked out before she zeroed on them.

* * *

That night turned out to be worth dealing with their mother-who-has-turned-into-fire-breathing-dragon. It has almost been unbearable that they all had taken refuge in our rooms or in each other's room.

They were frequently joined by their father. After a while it became less awkward. They could talk to their father and express their view. Not as freely as Potters but considered to barely a word before, it was getting Hogwarts letter big event. He wanted to know their view and reasons behind it. He would argue for a while but concede when their points made sense. It was great. 

After last of muttering from mother, which stopped when father simply said, "If you cause trouble I will simply send you back here. Understood? Behave like a proper lady, for god sake!" Blacks were all wearing formal black clothes which screamed opulence. They portkeyed to Potter Manor and froze, every one was wearing casual clothes. Mother looked surprising smug at anger on father face that was increasing by second.

Sirius saw that too, and accused her in seething voice,"You knew it was casual, didn't you? That's what Mrs Potter sent in the invite which you refused to show me?" Father looked at mother and at her defensive look, looked ready to throttle her but before he could do anymore.

Mr Potter's friendly voice came," Orion, you made it! Oh?" He paused looking at their dress. Frown on his face, he looked at father, who just gave a pointed look at mother. Mr Potter just waved his hand and all males were suddenly wearing transfigured muggle casual clothes, still black and white, while mother remained in her dress. explaining, "Looked like Mrs Black put a lot of effort in dressing up, why mess with that?" shrugging he looked at their father, who had a glint in his eyes and turned to mother and commanded,"You will not change these clothes till we reach home. Is that clear?". Mother looked petulant and nodded. 

"Run along boys, the other kids are at the pitch. Come on, Mrs Black I will take you to the ladies. Orion, how was is that....?" the voice trailed as they made their wave towards the pitch. 

They both hugged the twins. Sirius went ahead hugged Remus, while Reg just waved and smiled. After brief introduction to others, Frank Longbottom, Eleanor Bones, Jarvis Abbott, Joanna McMillian, Jon McMillian, Kingsley Shaklebolt, (all pureblood); Emma Davis, Jack Hill, Rose Smith ( half-blood); Evelyn Root, John Watson (muggle-born). Why was it needed to categorize them via blood status: mother _._ We all chatted, ate and just basically created a havoc on the pitch. 

Then at the scheduled time, both twins left and the rest followed Frank, who has been to one of there shows before, towards the town hall. They went and sat with their muggle friends, with Reg and Sirius doing the introduction. Reg saw his mom glaring daggers at them for being friends with muggles. He looked at his father who gave him a small smile and looked up at the stage. He decided to ignore mother for a while. On stage, the twins came among wild cheering and took their places at Piano (James) and Guitar( Nix). There was also a mike place in front of Nix mouth. 

Without any preamble, James began a starting tune of a song and Nix voice filled the area and everyone sat entranced. Her voice was so soft, like an angle, it was almost curing a part of his soul, just listening to her melodious voice with amazing backdrop by James. It felt like what children's book said magic was. The utter soul that she poured in her voice, resonated in each soul present there. It simply stuck a cord. It kept them mesmerized and transported them to a world of peace, calm,  _love_. It was perfect. It was beautiful. James would give a deeper baritone in background which just added another level to it. After she sang five songs (Skyscraper, The Climb, This is me, Let it Go, and I have a dream*)  James performed solo on piano with Nix taking a backseat and listening to him with a peaceful smile. Reg found out later that the song was called Silent Night*. It was brilliant, perfect. Then both of them reeditioned Hakuna Matata, which all the other kids joined as well. Then bowed down and yelled as one "LET THE PARTY BEGIN!! YOHOO!!!" 

So the party began with muggle songs being blasted on the speakers and everyone started dancing on the floor. The twins joined us and we all, wizards and muggles alike, danced for what felt like whole night long. Reg saw his parents sitting but his father looked like he had just finished dancing and mother looked like she had swallowed dozen of lemons in one go. Father looked at me and winked. So he continued to dance till the night ended. 

They also had several of photos taken. The muggles had a closet turned into photo booth which took 4 pictures back-to-back for a muggle quarter. We all posed for so many silly photos and got so many films. Sirius, Remus and twins made sure to get couple together. Nix made sure that Reg, Sirius and father...dad, had one together as well. It was the _best night_. Yes, meeting Potters was definitely a good thing. Life had certainly taken turn for good, since meeting them.

_It all went to hell, when Sirius went to Hogwarts a couple of days later._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, Reg is going to be 10 here. So he wont understand what the elders were implying completely. But he sounds adult, because they weren't allowed to be kids ever.  
> Sirius knows enough to understand that his affection for Phoenix might be interpreted as something else.  
> The reason why Nix would sing more disney songs was because she is 11. Credit to Demi Lovato for Skyscraper, This is me, Let it Go; Miley Cyrus-The Climb; MIcheal Bubble-Silent night; Disney-I have a dream and Hakuna Matata.  
> Reason for Orion black change of behavior was that he saw Nix as the next most powerful witch and if, Sirius was going to marry her then their heirs would be surpass everyone. Family and its future always came first. But he knew that to even make that happen, he didn't to befriend the Potters and be a bit more liberal, or instead, he might lose his already powerful heir. It was just lucky that Fleamont and he actually became fast friends. This friendship brought out the old him which was lost in politics and family business. The friendship is real.  
> Next up-Hogwarts, finally.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	7. Holding on

"MOM!!! No!!! Save ME!!!MOM...MOM...." She could hear her daughter screaming in pain calling out to her. But she couldn't find her anywhere. "PHOENIX!!! PHOENIX, HONEY!! WHERE ARE YOU?" She got no response, when suddenly a fierce scream speared through the darkness. Her baby was in pain and she wasn't to help her. Suddenly she saw her daughter on the ground, writhing in pain, covered in love and  _losing so much blood!!!_ Oh Merlin.

She started to run towards her daughter, but it looked like every time she would get closer to her, farther away she was and more gruesome were scream. Phoenix's blood had started to coat her legs. She gave everything she had to reach her daughter, her only daughter. She reached her somehow and saw the  _motherfuc...amulet_ on her. The amulet sat on the neck looking innocent like it did on that day, mocking her, reminding her that she was the reason why her daughter was suffering. 

She saw her daughter open her eyes and say in barely a whisper, but she may as well have bellowed it in her ears, "Why were you careless? This is your fault? I'm in pain because you took me there!" With that she closed her pain riddled eyes and stopped breathing. 

No amount of shaking would wake her up. There was no heart beat. Oh Merlin! Her daughter had died because of her stupidity. No parent should outlive their children, ever. The pain of their loss would slowly kill them. The pain,  _the guilt, the loss_  that shot through her was unbearable. _And she woke up._

 _Bloody hell!_ _It was a dream._ She got out of her bed in a rush to check on her daughter and almost sagged with relief. Her baby was sleeping peacefully with a small smile on her face and hair that was getting even more tangled. She decided she needed hot chocolate and started walking towards kitchen mechanically.

That dream had been more vivid than those that had plagued her during the year that followed that incident. She knew she was terrified when the curse decided to take it course. But she had hoped it would be before she starts Hogwarts. Here, they could contain it. Here, _she_ was there to take care of her baby. But now, she was terrified how Nix was going to cope up. Of course, James would be there but what if they get sorted into different houses? James won't be able to help her along then. That _freaking amulet_. Why did she take that cursed job?

"There is no point dwelling in past, my dear. It solves nothing." came a calm reply from her behind. Her grandpa was here. How he knew when anyone ever needed him, she will never know. But was very grateful, that he was her grandpa and her rock. 

She went rushing into his arms. He comforted her with his warm bear hug. " I will be there for her. If it gets too much, Minerva will distract everyone while James will take her silently away. Don't worry, we have got her. She is strong, Euphemia. She would be alright." He whispered in her hair.

Euphemia,"I know you both would take care of her. But I can't stop cursing myself. Why did I take that job? It wasn't that we needed money or excitement in life. Merlin knows twins were more than handful at that age. Not only did I take the job for no reason, I took them to the curse site. I never do that. But that day I just...it felt like I needed to take them there. Plus how could it have hurt, the curses were broken already and only runes needed to be studied? I mean, they were both intelligent kids, they might actually start taking interest in learning magic or something. My carelessness is costing my baby, how will I ever forgive myself?" She was sobbing by the end of it. 

Albus, pulled back, looked at his grandchild  in the eye, and said, seriously, " How do you think I felt when I figured why that man convinced me to start a family with him? It was just his means to make sure I never go against him. He knew I won't be able to against him then, he was my child's other father. He just wanted to use me to build his plan of taking over the world. He knew I was possibly the only person to stop him. Then what did I get in return for foolishness and hunger for power, I lost my sister, brother and the partner, all in one hour."

"Did I regret giving in so quickly to all his demands and being so blind? To not see him for who really was? To think think that he wanted a family not to create a better future but secure himself? Do you think I don't curse myself every day for not stopping him sooner? For bridging the gaps of his plan? To give my amazing brilliant family, _his cursed legacy_ as shadow to follow always?"

"Yes, of course! But I would never regret having Adrian. Or being a single parent. He gave me the strength to fight for the people; against him. To prevent him from killing people all over. Adrian gave me a reason to live, dream and laugh again."

"Adrian gave me you and an amazing grandson-in-law; and two brilliant and loving great grandchildren. I didn't see the blessing that dark time bestowed upon me, at that time either. You wouldn't see this one's, yet. But I am fairly certain her curse might save us all."  

Seeing her confused frown,"I have a theory (Euphemia chuckled). You took the kids there for the job, not because you are a bad mother, you are far from it. But, because magic compelled you to take them there. It was Nix's destiny, my dear. You couldn't have stopped it."

"Are you telling me that I will not be able to save my child?" Asked a dread filled Euphemia.

"Of course, not! We will protect and save her. But, the magic has decided to give her with something exceptionally powerful, but to think that there won't be any scarifies or pain. That is a little too optimistic, dear." gently explained Dumbledore. 

"She will have to choose what to do with the knowledge or power she will be given. We need to let her decide her own path. All we can do is support her in her choosen path. Don't look so panicky Euphemia. she is strong, smart, intelligent girl. Plus she was bought up by you two. She will do what is right, I am sure of it."

"As for James and Nix being in different houses....I don't really see that happening. Yes, Nix is a, as James calls her, all brains, but she is also very brave. Don't worry dear. It will be alright."

* * *

**James POV**

He could see the beginning of his journey and he was excited. He could hardly keep from bouncing on his heels from excitement at discovering all the secrets that Hogwarts held. He means, he already knew more than normal first years about Hogwarts (thanks to several babysitting duty of G3). But, he also knew, there would be many hidden passageways, rooms, chambers and, lets not forget, the forbidden forest just waiting to be explored. It would be great to explore the castle, especially with the invisibility clock. The twins were going to rule the castle with Sirius, and Remus (he could be coerced). Of course, pranking needed to be done. He would talk about to Nix. _Oh! This was exciting!_ He would have to wait a year before Nix and he got into quidditch team, but that's okay. Nothing could spoil his fun, well, except for his mother, who crying ( _very loudly)_ and hugging the life out of them. 

Their pleading look to their father was prompting ignored. Sly man. He didn't want to deal with mother crying all alone, so he was hoping that her crying over them would let it all out of her system. Nix patted her saying "There, there! We love you and will miss you most, mom. But, Mom, look dad is feeling left out. I would like to say goodbye to him too or he will just pout till we come back for Christmas." That did the trick and he could feel his blood circulation start again. Their father looked amused at Nix tactics, but gave them a strong hug too and whispered "I love you both, very much!"

They both decided that the score needed to be settled, they could still feel the prickling sense of blood still trying to reach all of their deprived body parts. They hugged him, stepped back in synchronized manner and yelled at top of lungs, "We love you too, Poo-Poo." Fleamont flushed but laughed. Both of them waved bye to their parents, gave them a last hug and kisses and left. Fleamont looked James in the eye with pointed look, James nodded with determination gleaming in his eyes and ran after his half.

* * *

The loud proclamation of love for 'Poo-Poo'  did get attention of another black haired boy, who wanted to meet them but his mother won't let him leave Bloom Rosier alone.This girl was clinger than the rest of girls he was forced to meet this summer. Her name should be gloom because all she had done was whine about everything. Honestly, what exactly was his mother thinking! He would be _fond_ of a troll faster than he would of this girl. For Merlin sake's, he needed to dump this girl to find his friends. This was getting annoying. His father's smirk at his impatience and discomfort, was also getting on his nerve. To hell with it!

"Mother, Dad. I will see you next holiday." He bowed down, like it was proper. His mother nodded with haughty expression. Dad, though surprised all, when he bend down to hug him and say,"Tell me how Gryffindor turns out." Sirius looked gobsmacked but gave his father a quick hug and blinding smile. He gave Reg a hug and went away waving at them last time and starting to find the twins or Remus. 

But first he needed to dump Rosier, who still hasn't left his side, and avoid his cousins (nuts all of them. father..dad was proving to be different; but the rest were absolute maniacs). Rosier was still chatting some nonsense about dresses, Merlin's pant!, when he saw the compartment where his  _lovely_ cousins, Cissy and Bella, were sitting with Malfoy, Lestrange, Nott, and other wannabes. He nodded to the rest, Black's were at top of pureblood hierarchy crap. Politely he asked Cissy to take care of Miss Rosier here and left before the girl could open her mouth.

It took him a while before he spotted the three people he was looking for, at one of the last coaches. Remus was explaining about his summer and what he did. When he saw Sirius, he smiled genuinely. James outright tackled him in a bear hug, which he gladly returned. Nix came and gave him a, gentler, tight hug as well. He sat next to her on one side while James and Remus were sitting on opposite side. Remus continued to regale us about the runes he visited in Ireland and the antics of several drunks he saw there.

"....and then this fat, tall, muscular guy, who himself was swaying  dangerously, mind you, peered at them and chuckled like they kittens fighting. Then, he pulled them apart using their shirt collars and then proceeded to rant at them at how they were destroying his ju-ju, while shaking them so bad that their eyes seems to be rattling. Then as a compensation, he asked them both do a couple dance together, because his ju-ju refused toi come back to him. Let me tell he looked like he was going to crack their skull, if his ju-ju didn't come back. The two men, gulped, looked at each other and started to dance. That wasn't the funniest part...." 

The rest of the story and laughter ringing in the compartment came to an abrupt stop when the door opened and Cissy, Malfoy and  _Rosier_ were standing there. The seven of them sized each other. He felt Nix stiffen a bit. But, Malfoy's gleam  when he saw Nix made Sirius, forget about it and stand up, to draw Malfoy's attention away from her. Rosier's eyes narrowed at that and broke the stalemate,

"Si, you promised you would look after me to your mother. We were supposed to sit together for the rest of the train and then of course, once we are sorted. You left me alone." Whined  _Bloom_ in all her glory.The others snickered. Sirius just released a long suffered sigh.

"Yes, _Si_ , why would you leave such a lovely lady alone?" Asked Nix in dry tone while her eyes danced in mirth. Sirius smiled and rolled his eyes at Nix.

This riled Rosier more. Sirius hadn't bestowed her with one smile (fake ones didn't count) or affection in all their meetings, and here he was practically wrapped around this girl who was wearing a muggle trouser and a simple top. This girl who had no sense of fashion or ability to style or even comb her hair, had Sirius smiling fondly at her with just a sentence. _Unacceptable_!

"Who the hell you think you are, to talk to a pureblood like that? I am superior to you. Do you even know how to act like a lady? What  kind of proper lady, dresses like that! You have no shame, do you? First learn about the proper wizarding culture before you speak, you bloody mudblood." Shrieked a very irate Rosier. 

Sirius didn't bat an eye at mudblood slang (This was how his pureblood family would talk about muggle born. It took him a while to get it out of his system.). But, was getting more furious as seconds went when she started dissing Nix. Oh, he was so going to make her life miserable. Before he could open his mouth to retort, Nix stepped forward, regal and powerful and absolutely beautiful, and started speaking to the intruders of their compartment.

"Miss Black and Mr Malfoy, how are you today? Miss Black, I hear congratulations are in order. You must be thrilled to form relation between such a lovely family of Rodolphus Lestrange and your charming elder sister, Bellatrix. If you would allow me to introduce you to my companions. This is my brother and twin, James (who smiled but his anger at Rosier wasn't missed), that fine gentleman here, is Remus Lupin (who was wearing similar expression to James). The man standing there looking broodier than Bloody Baron, is I am sure you recognize, your cousin. (Sirius went from looking murderous to huffing a laugh)"

"I wasn't aware that shrieking, cursing and shouting at people you haven't even being properly introduced too, is the new proper pureblood lady behavior. I haven't really attended cultural classes in quite some time. I must have missed a lot. I have to say, this new way is quite freeing. Don't you think so, Miss Black?" asked a sweetly smiling Nix to his visibly astonished cousin and impressed future Fiance. Sirius snickered. Nix's ability to confound people with her proper lady skill never stopped being funny; and best part was most of the time it was in her muggle wear. She was just absolutely brilliant. Rosier looked like she had been told Christmas was cancelled. 

Cissy, the born proper lady, recovered and said,"Ah! Most apologies, Miss Potter. Miss Rosier her forgot herself for a moment (Rosier flushed). And you are right that it would be more freeing than convoluted ways one generally has to speak to navigate the wizarding world. It is sad that, this is not, yet, a proper way. Although Miss Rosier might lead the way (Rosier face was a brilliant tomato shade). Maybe, we both could help her change it in near future." replied a smiling Cissy with respect shining off her eyes.

Cissy was impressed that instead of resorting to anger and cursed words or hexes that were sure to follow, Nix had diffused the situation, put Rosier in her place, while simultaneously showing who was superior, all with a smile and simple words. Cissy could respect a talent when she saw one. Plus, she also saw that Potter girl diffused Sirius's anger in a second. That was quite an achievement. They all have been subject to his anger (it was nasty and often prolonged) one time or other.

Seeing Sirius's reactions towards this intriguing young woman, she decided she might as well make it merry with possible future Lady Black. Rosier, pretty she might be, would never be able to catch Sirius's attention for long, despite knowing him since she was a toddler. Potter here, seems to have done in three meeting. Not just Sirius, but from what she heard of Aunt Walgurba rant, Uncle Orion and Reg too. Crissy could see why. Potter was quick, cunning, intelligent and funny; and a pureblood from powerful family. After marrying, she would be a Black, no matter her previous alliances.

"Let me start over. Miss Potter, I would like to introduce you to heir of Malfoy family, Lucius Malfoy (who took Nix's hand and bent down to kiss it. (Sirius noticed Nix stiffen and James came to stand besides her). The expressive lady here, is Miss Bloom Rosier, daughter of Jonnathan Rosier. (Who again flushed) Would you all like to join us for tea, later on?" Cissy looked at Nix at the invitation. 

Nix smiled and said," That would be lovely. But maybe next year. This year, if its alright with you, we would like to spend with each other as our houses are still undecided. That might change after sorting, you see." 

"Of course, we understand Miss Potter. We will definitely save a seat for you and your friends next year. Till next time, Mr Potter, Mr Remus. Sirius, I will have a seat for you next to me. It had been a absolute pleasure meeting you, Miss Potter." smiling Cissy left with Malfoy and Rosier left slower. Rosier caught the happy hug Sirius gave Nix and also a  _kiss on her cheek._ She was _not happy._

The rest of trip went without any further incident. The quarter met Frank (5th year Gryffindor, Kingsley (6th year Gryffindor),  Jarvis Abbott(Ravenclaw, 4th year), Joanna McMillan(5th year, Hufflepuff), Jon McMillan (Ravenclaw, 3rd year),  Emma Davis (Huffelpuff, 2nd year), Jack Hill (Slytherin, 3rd year), Rose Smith (Slytherin, 4th year) and her friend Nancy McHill (Slytheirn, 3rd year), Evelyn Root (Hufflepuff, 7th year), John Watson* (Gryffindor, 2nd year) and his friend Benedict Sherlock *(Ravenclaw, 2nd year). It was good to know people before hand and also more than half the quidditch team of Hogwarts.

* * *

**Remus POV**

"Firs' ye'r over here! Firs' year!" A giant man towering at 8 feet or even more was waving there. James and Nix looked delighted and rushed to meet him. Sirius and Remus shrugged and followed them behind catching conversation that was already flowing.

"...oh come on! Atleast Hogwarts ..." exclaimed James

"won't be dull anymore.." continued Phoenix

"..Sure Aunt Minnie might get grey hair earlier than she thought"

"although I think it would suit her"

"but still..."

"Anyways, this is Sirius"

"not really"

"i haven't seen him Sirius"

"at least most of the time"

"and this Remus"

"he is shy"

"but we reckon",

"we could corrupt him!" finished James, like it was normal to talk like that. But the huge man, giant man, na... beard man? (his face was covered with hair all over)...anyways the man was clearly used to it because he just smiled. He had kind eyes and very soothing smile. Sirius was looking at him with fascination and bit intimidation.  Remus decided to go ahead with introductions,

"Hello sir, My name is Remus Lupin and this is Sirius Black here."

Hagrid looked at me wit surprise and then chuckled and said," They both ar' gonna ruin ya. Alright ya fo'r, grab a 'oat." Sirius, James and Remus and Nix were able to grab a boat together.

As the boat lurched forward at Hagrid's "FORWARD" command, they got first glimpse of Hogwarts, their home for next seven years. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side [of a black lake], its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers _._  They started to travel down a glassily still lake and through a curtain of ivy to a pebbly underground harbour. They could see a very tall mountain, surrounded by forests and accessible only through this lake. They all watched entranced at Hogwarts as it grew bigger and closer. It was beautiful. They then, trekked througha muddy path towards the castle following hagrid.

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Remus's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. However, he saw the twins grin widely at her. Professor's stern face lessened a little as she saw the twins.

‘The firs’-years, Professor McGonagall,’ said Hagrid.

‘Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.’

She pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was so big you could have fitted the whole of the his house and more in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Remus could hear the voices of hundreds from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first-years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

‘Welcome to Hogwarts,’ said Professor McGonagall. ‘The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

‘The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

‘The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.’

Her lips twitched at twins who were making a show of getting the other one smarten. They were triying to flatten each other's hair and then acted dramatically upset when it remained same. They, then, looked woefully at Professor as if to show her that their attempt at smartening has failed. They could see her fighting a smile; making twins grin and wink at her. A smile broke out and the twins high-fived. Professor McGonagall, just shook her head in resigned fondness and turned to the rest.

‘I shall return when we are ready for you,’ said Professor McGonagall. ‘Please wait quietly.’ looking pointedly at the twins, who wore their angelic faces. She left the chamber. The rest of the students at hall looked at the twins in awe, but twins just ignored everyone else. 

There were mummers and rumors going along the hall about how the sorting would take place. Rumors started spreading that they would have to duel or probably take some sort of entrance test. When suddenly, crowd parted and a group of seven children with superior looks walked directly towards them. Sirius stiffened, so did Nix, who clutched James hand, whose other hand was making soothing circle on her back. That was weird. he didn't think the twins were worried about confrontation, considering they weren't even looking at them; but he could smell Nix in pain (just not physical, like emotional) . Nix gave a small shake of her head and James eyes hardened. They both went to stand on either side of Sirius, in silent support, who relaxed a bit. Remus went to stand on other side of Nix as well.

Among the seven children approaching, he realized was that shrieking girl, who was put in place by Nix in a truly spectacular manner. The rest looked like child mafia. 

A tall guy whose face looked permanently itched with scowl, addressed only Sirius,"Black, you would realize soon that we are the only one who are worth getting to know and getting  _familiar_ with blood traitors and other filth, will only tarnish your family reputation. I, Uranus Flint, and my friends can help you." Saying that really impressive (read: heavy sarcasm) and loud speech, he thrust his manicured hands out towards Sirius. Rosier looked smugly at Nix. 

Sirius looked at him with such disgust on his face and sneered. What would have followed were some very crude words, when Nix nudged him slightly. Sirius glanced at Nix and then plastered a smile on his face and said, "Sorry mate. I can choose my friends on my own, instead of having my parents decide them for me. I really don't think being friends with a dunderhead would help my reputation either."

Snickers were heard all over the hall and many people were looking at Sirius in different light. He could understand that, a Black dissing, so openly, his house's view, was impressive. He knew, Sirius wasn't sorted and he was nothing like Blacks. But family tradition of so long were not easily broken. 

But before anything more could be said, ‘Move along now,’ said a sharp voice. ‘The Sorting Ceremony’s about to start.’ Professor McGonagall had returned. ‘Now, form a line,’ Professor McGonagall told the first-years, ‘and follow me.’

Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Remus got into line behind James. Nix was sandwiched between Sirius and James. Nix was oddly quiet and stiff; still radiating the pain. James kept a hand on her as if steering her along, but it was so subtle that it didn't seem that way. They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Remus had, of course, read ahead about Hogwarts but couldn't have even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Was Remus imagining or was Dumbledore looking at the twins with furrowed brows? Why? Shouldn't he be happy, they were joining Hogwarts?

Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. He looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard a red haired girl whisper it to a brunette, ‘It’s bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_.’ It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn’t simply open on to the heavens.

"When I call your name, I need you to step forward and sit on the stool. The Sorting Hat (a dirty looking big, old, worn, black hat) would be placed on you and your house will be decided." The relief spread through him and everyone else. Although Nix remained stiff. In fact, her eyes were almost glazed over. He was about to ask whats wrong when sorting started. 

'Abrax, Haley' . The blond hair girl nervously stepped forward, sat on the stool and jumped slightly when the hat was placed on her. After a while the hat yelled, "Ravenclaw '. The table on their left started to whistle and clap, This process repeated for all students. Nix would flinch, wince or sigh in relief after every name call. Remus could smell pain, so much pain radiating from her.

James was all but supporting her weight by standing half behind her. To outside world, it looked like the twins were just being together with one another due to sorting anxiety but Remus knew something was wrong with Nix.

'Black, Sirius." The hat barely touched his head and yelled "Gryffindor!" The whole hall went dead silent but Sirius had a blinding smile. The silence of the hall was broken by twins yelling simultaneously,"YEAH! SIRIUS!" And then clapping furiously. The whole shocked Gryffindor followed their lead and welcomed its new housemate with smiles. On other side, Slytherins looked like they have been slapped. 

A witch, looking a lot like Cissy, had a murderous look on her face. Seeing this, Sirius actually blew her a flying kiss. Cissy, on the hand, seemed to be suppressing a smile, when Sirius waved cheerily at them from his new house table. He was so lost in this interaction, that the next thing he knew,"Lupin, Remus."

"Ah! (he jumped.  _Oh! So that's why everyone was jumping. Well, umm, hello?)_ " The hat chuckle and said," Well, hello to you. Courteous one, aren't you? Well lets have look in your brain, shall we? _That isn't foreboding at all._ Ah, you have a very sharp brain, a curiosity which would fit you in Ravenclaw brilliantly. But that house isn't really your fit is it? Huffelpuff will smother you, so that a no too. You are very brave and loyal. You would need their support and your friends will need yours in coming future. Don't be afraid my boy. You are quite the right fit for "GRYFFINDOR". Support her, will you?" Before he could ask for explanation, the hat was removed and he could hear the twins and Sirius clapping and cheering. 

He went to sit red faced towards Sirius, who clapped on his back. They both turned to sorting. After a while, Remus looked to see Sirius staring with a furrow in his eyes at Nix. He realized that Nix actually had her eyes closed and, when the crowd thinned, she was staring, blankly, at the teacher table. Dumbledore was, subtly glancing at her, looking very concerned. Was she sick? He turned to speak to Sirius and saw that he was almost off his seat to go offer Nix comfort. Remus just smiled at that. 

"Something has been wrong with her, since we came inside Hogwarts. She has been stiff and unusually quite. Did you notice?" Remus whispered to Sirius. Sirius looked at him and nodded. Concern was reflected in both their eyes for their blue eyed friend. Was  _she_ the one sorting hat spoke about? Well if she is, he will support her. She offered her friendship without a question; he would be support her through her issues.

"Potter, James" He saw James give Nix a squeeze, who gave him a faint smile. The sorting hat much like with Sirius, just touched his head and the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" Nix was clapping loudly and for the first time looked happy since entering Hogwarts. 

"Potter, Phoenix" Nix sorting took a while but the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!". Phoenix gave a blinding smile, that had the other three boys sighing with relief. She came and sat besides James and Frank. They were both talking to her quitely throughout the rest of the sorting. It looked like they were distracting her from something. It was working because he could smell less pain from her. He smiled. 

Dumbledore got up and the hall fell silent, "Welcome new students to your home away from home for the next seven years. First year are requested to stay back after dinner and wait for their prefects to show them the way. Now, Mr Filch, is our caretaker who has asked to inform you that there are 99 items banned and anyone interested should see the list. Now lets eat! Bippity Boppity boo!" He sat down and the tables groaned under the weight of food. 

Everyone was busy devouring the food. When he saw Nix get up saying "Washroom", James followed without a word. When he saw the red hair look at them in confusion, Sirius replied joyously," They are twins and usually go everywhere together. Its a twin thing, apparently!" Remus nodded. Red head seemed to accept that. They waited for few seconds and got up saying, 'they better get them or they will miss dinner' and left.

Remus could smell Nix going outside the entrance hall towards lake. Thankfully, they could see James or it would have been difficult to explain how he knew where Nix was to Sirius. They decided to hide back a little, far enough to not be seen but close enough to hear.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sue me. I just couldn't resist.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	8. Cracks appear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nix curse starts to take more effect. Sirius and Remus find out.

James had been very concerned for Nix, the whole time, sorting was going. He could see G3 glance every now and then, with concern filled eyes at Nix, who was flinching, wincing and sighing at every name. Merlin! Is that the curse, to know who is going to live and die? He knew she was watching flashes of every one's last moments. She just sagged against him after a while.

Thank Merlin, everyone was more concerned with sorting then keeping an eye on her and the people around her were too nervous to notice her strange reaction.

When the crowd thinned around them, Nix simply started to stare straight ahead. He knew she was preventing herself from reacting by not seeing anyone's face. He wondered how long she had till she broke down.

He looked at G3, who looked grave at Nix's reactions. The happiness he felt at Nix being called a Gryffindor was more than his own sorting. He could be with her and protect her now. Even, G3 smiled at that.

Aunt Minnie though looked up in the sky. Nix shot her a smile and wink, before rushing to join him. McGonagall turned to see James wave at her. McGonagall mused that her house was going to go through a ringer for next 7 years.

James and Frank (who knew a bit about curse; he was almost like their elder brother) kept a on slaughter of talk about every thing they could think. It seemed to help her and then dinner came. She ate a little, but when a girl in Frank's class smiled at him and Nix stiffened. Then saying, " Washroom" left. He didn't even think of coming up with an explanation, as he simply followed Nix. Frank would take care of it, if required. He had already given him tower password 'Pulchra'.

Nix went to the lake and started to breath heavily while tears flowed off her eyes like river. All he could really do was wrap his hands around her and hold her, while she gathered herself up. His sister was strong but it was just a lot of knowledge together for her. He didn't know how long they were standing like that. When she looked at him and said, "It's a curse! Its a bloody curse! So many deaths Jamie, so many...I can't even..." she sniffled and looked so lost.  

"Maybe, its a curse in disguise. You know their death maybe the reason will come later on as well. You can save them. You don't its bad till its takes it full effect. Lets wait and see. Don't curse the curse yet." Jamie replied evenly while running his finger through her hair, like he had seen mom do it to her. Nix smiled, it was small but it counted. 

"Ah! I thought I would find you here. You did tell me, you find water soothing." with a smile G3 came.

Nix snorted looking at his clothes. Jamie knew G3 wore it, on an off chance, it would brighten her mood, when the sorting they all knew was going to be a task for her. G3 was wearing a hot pink robe with big yellow colored bees humming and seem to be dancing.

G3 smile grew bigger, "Do you want to talk about it, dear? It might help. Or we can wait till whenever you are ready." G3 asked Nix gently with concern that turned into pride, as Nix, eyes filled with pain and determination, nodded. "Then come along, lets go to my office."

Nix stopped James, who looked at her questioningly," I need you to go back inside and create some story about my absence. I know you want to know. I will tell you but for now, please divert attention. Also, tell Sirius and Remus about the curse. I trust them and I know you do too. I won't..won't be able to do this alone. We need friends. But make sure no one else knows. Okay?" G3 smiled happily at them trusting their friends. They didnt know that the said boys had listened to this and ran instead to reach the great hall.  

James knew it was important to keep Nix out of lime-light for this one or she would targeted and hunted. He nodded, hugged her tight and went towards hall. Nix and Dumbledore had small talk about this and that, till they reached his private chambers. Warding the room, he looked at his strong, strong girl, who was looking out at the moon with a pensive, almost aged look on her face. 

She turned to him and said in dead voice," Bring the list of students, starting from this year and I will tell you who all died and how, who all were killed, and who survived or, at least, didn't die gruesome deaths." Albus nodded.

He knew she wanted to let it out as soon as possible. He bought the list and sat down. His great granddaughter parroted almost everyone's fate in a very dead tone. After the talk, they both hugged and Nix fell asleep, while still in his hug. Albus smiled. "Youth never failed to surprise him with their strength."

* * *

James entered the hall and took a deep breath, Frank looked at him in question and he shook his head no. Frank looked concern but decided to play their script.

"Oh! James. I thought you got lost?" dramatically exclaimed Frank.

"Me? Get lost, pluh-lease!" replied equally dramatic James as he came to sit in front of Sirius and Remus, who smiled.

"Where is your sister? Didn't you go after her? She really didn't have a lot to eat." said a red-head beside him.

He looked at her. She had striking green colored eyes with glowing red hair and a oval face. She was pretty.  _Wait what?_ He shook his head to clear it and replied to her concern,"Oh, she is fine. Had too many candies in the train ride. So now has an upset stomach to deal with. I took her to infirmary. I am James, by the way, and my twin name is Phoenix." 

She smile and replied,"I am Lily Evans. Its too bad that she is missing a feast, this food is delicious!" Her reply was met with agreeable hums. After dinner, they were shown the Gryffindor common room, told about the password, told about the staircases, breakfast schedule, but all James could feel was apprehension about Sirius and James reaction to Nix's curse. Would they abandon her? Would they treat her differently? Hate her? Avoid them? No, it wasn't likely, but that didn't lessen his anxiety. 

They reached the door which had thankful all three of their name and a Peter Pettigrew, a round chubby boy with beady eyes. There was another room which houses other three boys from their year, Hank Buttler, Jhonny Lestrade and Austin Martin. The four boys reached their door, waved bye to the other three boys and entered their dorms.

They changed into their nightwear and went to bed after brief introductions. A snore filled the dorm and James needed to wake Sirius and Remus up. He needed to tell them before Nix came back tomorrow. She won't be up for another interrogation. He was surprised to hear two other curtain open, when he opened his. Sirius and Remus nodded at him, got their robes and slippers on; and followed James.

* * *

They both knew that whatever Nix was suffering was huge because James looked stooped and worried. So they followed him quietly to a cave like room and sat opposite him on the floor. James seems to be gathering courage.

"I need to tell you something but I need you to promise me, that would never tell any other soul about it. It could mean life and death for Nix." He said with hardened facial expression.

They both saw a big brother, who would go against the whole world to keep his sister safe. They made an oath as solemnly. In short time, the twins have both carved a space in their heart; and they would  protect them both.

James started his explanation," When we were 5 years old, mom got a job from one of runes sites. We generally were not taken to these. We were menaces at home, can you imagine at a rune site? But, we went to this one as others kids were there as well. It was de-cursed site, so mom didn't see any harm and father came along to keep an eye on us."

"We were left with other children to play with harmless artifacts (James smiled bitterly). We were all passing  _non-magical_  artifacts from one another and playing with them. It was fun. " 

"A ordinary pendant was passed among everyone and was given to us at last. It didn't affect me but the moment Nix touched it, everyone around her was blasted away from her. My little sister was covered in some form of magical orb. My parents both tried to break the magic; but attacking it just made it mad and it attacked Nix. G3 came and tried to get her out, but the magic just made my sis bleed. There were cuts all over her body. There was so much blood.  _Just so much blood and her screams. Merlin! Her screams still haunt my dreams."_

"I yelled at them to stop. It was hurting her. Their magic. G3 made everyone leave the room, except me. He asked Nix not to fight the magic but to let it in. She looked so terrified by it but agreed. The magic went inside her and my baby sister just collapsed, as if she had died. For a moment, I really thought she had! I d..d..don't ever want to live like that again. G3 took her to St. Mungos. She didn't wake up from comatose for a whole month!"

"We still dont know what the magic was or what it does. Nix considers it a curse. Since then, whenever she meets anyone new, she gets these flashes and feelings about them -good/bad/neutral; but its not for everyone. The flashes are either of people's death or something close to it. It's just flashes of death. She told me about some, they are gruesome."

"We became friends with  muggles of our town because with them she could be normal. She had no flashes or feelings around them. It helped as it gave her time to heal and learn to curb her external responses to her curse. She has gotten good at it but, sometimes, the images are too gory to prevent her reaction. She will have several now for at least a few days, as she meets new people. Thankfully, the image and feelings only happen for the first meet and few seconds."

"My sister is strong but to see people dying around her makes her feel...just so cursed. She thinks she is being punished by knowledge of how people died but not why and when. So she can't stop them and is helpless to just watch it happen. She hates it. I  _hate_ the fact that she is pain, _so so much pain_. "

James looked at his hands and seems to be controlling his crying. He had started to cry in middle of his explanation of curse. Sirius and Remus we're both pale and horrified that the bright _happy_ girl was going through so much.

Sirius, who was pale, had haunted eyes, asked in a timid voice,"How can we help? What can we do to make it easier for her?" his tone almost held a desperation in them. 

James looked grateful, but said," We understand if you don't want to remain our friends. It wont be an easy life. Her curse has yet to take full course. G3 thinks the curse is waiting for her to mature and her power to develop. We don't know what exactly it is that we are dealing. I would like you guys to think about it. Don't act impulsively. It could be dangerous."

Remus looked at James like he had grown another head," Are you crazy, of course we want help her and support her. She is our  _friend._ So, tell us how we can help and make it easier for her? Maybe there are books I could read...."

James smiled but still looked doubtful. Seeing this Sirius replied with heat," Would you two ever treat us differently, if we were cursed? Would you abandon us?" At's James indignant furious head shake, Sirius continued," Neither will we. Now tell us what to do!"

James had tears in his eyes. He got up from his position and hugged both of them. Remus looked like he wanted to add something, but stopped himself. 

"Well mostly, all we can do is give her time to regain her composure. So distract people around her while that happens. And if you see her stir clear of someone, make sure that person doesn't come near her. Sometimes, its get too much, so just hug till she calms down. Then do whatever she tells you to. Anywhere near water calms  her down. But more than anything, just treat her normally. She sometimes just needs to feel the comfort  and physical assurance that I am here. She has seen my death or when the flashes haunt her. We both slept in same bed for months later to prevent both our nightmares. It won't be very unusually if she does that now too. You guys don't mind that, do you? We can ask G3 for a different room during these times..."

"Don't be an idiot, of course, we don't mind." Replied Remus with Sirius's determined nod. 

At the other boys nod, they went back to their bed. James, felt lighter than ever, and Sirius and Remus, slept with swear in their heart to protect that incredible girl.

* * *

Next day when boys and girls arrived at the common room at same time. They were all amused to see James give a delighted yell and went sat straight on Nix's lap with arms around her and his hip and legs trapping her legs in between them on a sofa. Nix looked resigned and said dryly," One day you would be too fat to do that, you know!" 

"Well, then I am going to milk it till then, sweet sister." He smacked a loud kiss on her cheek and Nix laughed. The rest followed as well. The girls came to meet her. She was introduced to the girls and rest of the batch.

Sirius noticed how Nix would very subtly react to meeting each of them for the first time. Lily Evans (wince with tears in her eyes), Marlene Mckinnon(flinch), Karen Willy and Cady Jones ( no reaction). It was all very subdued and unless you knew what you were looking for, you won't get it. Sirius was impressed that even though, an emotional storm was raging through her, she was able to keep a very good front. 

He decided distraction is what was needed.

"Now that you have the ladies, allow me to introduce you to some strapping lads here. Funny Hank Buttler, charming Jhonny Lestrade, handsome Austin Martin, gentlemen Remus Lupin, that dolt on your lap, James Potter(who stuck him tongue out) and the ever handsome and delightful, Sirius Black, at your service, my lady." Nix laughed. she shoved James off her and got up. Remus and Sirius went and hugged her. 

"Don't ever leave me alone with these two maniacs, Nix." Remus jokingly said.

" I am so sorry for being so inconsiderate to you, my fine sir. I will endeavor not to do such a dastardly act in future." came dramatic reply from Nix but Sirius could see happiness and gratitude shining in her eyes. Sirius couldn't help it and hugged her again,"Don't be stupid. Of course, we won't abandon you. I..err.. We love you, you silly girl." he whispered in her ears, as he let go. Her smile nearly dazed him. HIs hands were around her shoulder.

"You guys didn't wake me up! You left me!" came a whining, accusing voice of Peter. Sirius was about to comment, when Nix went rigid as ice, almost recoiled back, her eyes were filled with horror and disgust, as she looked at Peter. James and Remus saw her reaction and decided to divert attention while Sirius took care of Nix.

"Peter!! My Man! We figured you wanted to sleep in. It was a tiring journey after all." came cheery reply from James.  Everyone's attention was on them, while Sirius had Nix in a hug and Remus could see she was trying to calm down. She whispered something in his ears, which made Sirius stiffen and get an angry glimmer on his face. He calmed down and smiled at Nix, it was such a sweet smile, that Nix smiled a little bit even. Sirius response smile could put sun to shame. 

"Well, I don't know about you all, but I am hungry. Lets go!" She went ahead with Sirius, James and Remus picked their speed to join them. Nix look told them, " Not now!" They nodded. And proceeded to have a fun breakfast. Remus noted Nix stiffening every now and then but was able to control herself better. After that they were told by Frank that they needed to be seated here for McGonagall to bring them their timetable; and then he and Alice (another Prefect) would show them the way. Nix looked very sadly at the pair. Frank just hugged her and tickled her till she asked for mercy. She hugged him back and Frank simply ruffled her hair with a smile. 

Professor gave them the timetable and their first period was actually with her. So they left for the class. They had four chairs per table. The quarter decided to select the last one near the window. Nix told the window seat, while James sat beside her, then Sirius and lastly, Remus. McGonagall's tabby cat was sitting perched on the table, she curiously had marking near here eyes. The bell rang and two kids came running in and smiled when they saw that the Professor was not in yet.

Looking at the cat, one of them sneered at it and said," I was told by father that she is one of the strictest professor and  _she_ herself is not on time." Nix and James were snickering and looked like cat ate the canary. 

"Is that so, Mr Bulstrode and Mr Avery?",said Professor McGonagall, who to surprise of all students (except the twins) turned from a cat to herself. She was glaring at the petrified Slytherins, who shuttered but couldn't form a word. " Take a seat and next time, whoever comes late will have points taken off them." The two Slytherins hurried to sit down. 

"Now then, transfiguration is a magic which changes one object into another. It is possible to change inanimate objects into animate ones and vice versa. Some Transfiguration spells alter a part of something, such as changing a person’s ears from normal into rabbit ears. (twins ears quirked at that) Transfiguration is subject to rules, such as Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, which has five Principal Exceptions, of which food is one, which means that food cannot be produced out of thin air. (twins and Sirius had similar sad faces. Everyone bit their lips from snickering, even Professor's lips twitched.) Food can be moved from one place to another by magic, or changed, but not created out of nothing." 

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Wrong incantation and wand movement can lead to a trip to infirmary or even permanent dis-figuration. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." ( She looked at the quarter's table, who looked like angles with doe eyes.)

"The basic of transfiguration is to think and have a very clear image of the change that you want to create. Now, today we will try to change the match stick in front of into needle. Please follow my hand movement. Right one more time. Very well. Now repeat the incantation in clearly. Excellent, now give a go." 

Everyone started to try the spells, James turned his match stick into needle in second try. It was thin, silver and a bit round at end. Professor McGonagall nodded and gave him 15 points. Sirius got it next, then Remus. They were all awarded 10 points each for successful transfiguration. Professor came next to Nix and placed a hand. Nix visibly startled, she was thinking while looking out of the window. At Professor pointed look, she glanced at the board, took out her wand and transformed it into a yellow stripped, thin pointy needle. McGonagall looked at the twins and muttered what suspiciously sounded like 'I'll be damned!' and awarded Nix 15 points as well. 

Nix returned to looking out of the window. They let her be, they had realized that after the Peter incidence, she had almost fainted when she saw Lily again and then proceeded to hug her brother. No one batted at eye on their spontaneous hug. They all just assumed that twins were very affectionate towards one another. Sirius did see Nix looking intrigued at a bat-looking guy, who really should use shampoo in his hair once in a while, who was talking to Evans. Nix did flinch when she saw most of the Slytherins.

McGonagall left them with homework for everyone to write points on basic of transfiguration (1 and a half foot ) and every one who couldn't do the spell to practice it. They had a free period at which the quarter made way towards the lake. Twins led them to a tree spot where they were hidden from the school, yet not secluded. Peter did try to follow them but they got him engaged in conversation with Jhonny. 

Sirius and Remus were surprised to see Dumbledore waiting for them there. He smiled at them and hugged Nix. After Dumbledore warded the area, Nix began,

"Yesterday, I saw most of our batch die, in one way or other. I will not go in detail of it, its too painful. But if you want an answer to a particular someone, I would try to answer. Today something different happened when I saw Peter Pettigrew. I didn't see a flash or image, I saw like movie reels of his worst things, I suppose. The feeling I got was very negative, almost hateful."

"I saw him giving, willingly and cheerfully, address of someone, he vowed to protect to Voldemort. I saw him in a graveyard kill a 16-17 year old boy. He tortured another 14-15 year boy, took almost his arm to take his blood. I saw him choking himself when his hand betrayed him as he was trying to choke that same tortured boy, who looked older now. He will/was/is a horrible person and I won't talk to him. I saw..saw..that little boy being tortured by him and he was gleeful. That bastard!" Nix was almost sobbing at that but her shone with hatred.

The other boys looked horrified and looked at each other, "Nix, he is our dorm mate." Nix looked green in her face and nodded. 

"What else happened? You were fine at the breakfast." asked Sirius

"Lily." At questioning look, she elaborated." I saw her beg Voldemort to spare her child. But he killed her and then had his wand pointed at the child. It was horrible." 

There was a grief stuck silence at which Nix started to pace,"I will let the magic take hold of me, I have been resisting it for a while. But maybe I can get a full view, full order of things. How went what, what went wrong; I could prevent it. Stop so many lives being lost and destroyed."

Looking at G3, she said,"Maybe it is telling me future, but some things don't add up. Maybe the magic wants me to save all these people from destroying so much or its showing me something much deeper. So what if I have to suffer a little, at least I can try to save the rest. I will save them all, if I can help." She finished with determination and acceptance. They all looked at her with pride, then James tackled her in a hug, followed by rest.

"You guys would suffocate me before the amulet magic can harm me." Nix joked and they released her. Dumbledore looked thoughtful and looked at Nix,

"Lets have daily meeting everyday, you tell me all there is to tell. We will see if we can have a timeline of things to help us to narrow things down. The boys will cover for you. After two weeks or so, once a month or a week, should be fine. You can tell the rest that its detention. Which I am sure you would get a lot." finished Dumbledore with twinkle in his eyes. The twins just grinned.

Dumbledore left. Nix turned to the boys and said,"Lets not talk about this now. Lets talk about something else."

"Pranks!", came James response. They all nodded and began their planning.  

     

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remus still didn't tell because he is afraid of rejection. He considers himself dark creature whereas Nix is simply affected due to amulet, so not dark.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	9. Conversations

_Dear Reg,_

_I hope this letter finds you before our dragon firing mother gorbs it down. I am not sure if you have heard it or not, but i am a GRYFFINDOR!!!! Its fantastic, brother. It is just so warm, homely and cheerful. It actually reminds of Potter Manor a bit. James, Nix and Remus all have gotten into the same house as well. It absolutely brilliant! My sorting didn't take a second to decide that I was Gryffindor. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. Here, people are friendly because they are nice, not because they need anything. Plus the view from common room is nice as well._

_We have 7 boys in my house and 5 girls. Our Professors are nice and already wary of twins. I suppose they know about them from Dumbledore. We are planning our first big prank. Can you believe it? I am currently dorm mates with James, Remus and Peter (another fella, not sure about him. He is too afraid and whining for my taste, honestly.) The rest of the guys are great too. Nix seems to think that the other guy, Austin, is cooler than me. Idiotic woman._ **Girl.** _Stop writing in my letter Nix._ **Why? Hi Reg! And, Austin is cool. Stop being so indignant. Merlin!...Fine fine, your brother is epitome of coolness and idiocy. Bye, Reg!**

_I am thinking of joining Hogwarts Orchestra and Frog Choir Singing group. Although for choir, we need to have audition, reckon I would get selected, huh? James and Nix definitely will. They are auditioning for it too. James and I would also audition for drama club here, Remus says that since we are so dramatic all the time, we might as well use the talent. Nix refused. She says she would help create the prop and other effects, but not act. Its a shame really, it would have been fun with her on stage._

_Remus, the ever lovable bookworm has decided to form study groups with other people. James and I have declined to join, though Nix has agreed. I don't understand why. She is absolutely brilliant at everything and knows more than all of us combined. I guess, she just wants to meet and help other people. She will be a good teacher too, I have no doubt._

_Do you know that Hogwarts feasts are absolutely mouth watering, I am not kidding! Although Mrs Potter might have slight edge. Quidditch tryouts are soon, we all would go to watch it at least, since we can't play yet. Muggle-borns are not bad, you know. We have this red-head in our year, Lily (Nix seems to have taken a liking to her) is pretty smart and in few months time, I reckon she would be better than most. **Also my dearest brother seems to have crush on her.** I don't. Stop telling lies. I don't have a crush. I don't!  Will you two let me write my letter. **Touchy, touchy!** Where was I? Yes, she is also friends with a Slytherin, who I don't think has heard of a shampoo in his life before. _

_Also, James and I had our first detention yesterday, when we caused the staircase to turn into slides. I don't even understand why we were given detention, everyone seems to be enjoying it. Including Dumbledore, which is why I think McGonagall gave us a detention, to deter us. I don't think it had its desired effect. Anyways, how are you? How bad are things at home? Is father helping you stay away from mother? I could ask Potters to take you for a little while, if you want?_

_Sirius_

_PS: The owl is Nix's. Figured mother won't stop the owl if I used someone else's owl. Erwin wasn't happy about it. Feed Darcy something will you. No Nix, I am not calling an owl a_ Mr _._

_PPS: It would actually be of help, if you could visit mother. She is feeling our devastating loss at home. So you could, please, see that you at least meet them for a while. I could even write to your father. Feed **Mr.** Darcy some pie, he is used to fancy food. Shut up Sirius, I am talking to Reg.-Nix_

_PPPS: Also the slide thing was amazing. G3 went down like three times. Honestly, Aunt Minnie was being a meany. -James_

_PPPPS: They are all idiots, ignore them. I hope, you are well?-Remus_

This had to be the most interesting letters he has gotten in a while. The post scripts were definitely interesting. It looked his brother was truly happy. He couldn't be happier and decided that yeah, he might as well as meet Potters. His brother's and Nix's conversation were hilarious. His mother's constant rant and father's nonchalance to his son's different house, has created a unbearable atmosphere. Reading the letter again, he smiled and penned down a reply and another request for Potters for an invite.  

* * *

 _MOM-DAD, ( **bold-Nix,**_ _italics-James)_

_Hello! Hi! How are you? Did you hear, WE BOTH GOT INTO GRYFFINDOR!!! Sirius and Remus did too. Its brilliant. The common room is so cozy. I am dorming with Remus, Sirius and Peter Pettigrew. We have three other year  mates, who are cool too. Although your daughter thinks Austin is too cool. I don't think Sirius appreciated that._

_**And I am dorming with Marlene, Cady, Karen and Lily. I like Lily and Marlene. They are nice. Lily is a bit studious but pretty according to somebody.** I did not say that. **Right. Anyways,she is nice but studious. Marlene is more outgoing and plays beater. Isn't that great? Cady and Karen seemed at bit more girlish. I am sure you heard from G3 but to clarify I am fine. We told Sirius and Remus about it. They were so nice and supportive about it. They didn't**_ **hate _me or think I am_ nuts _mother._** _**They** **have helped me ma. They didn't** _ **shun me. _I_** _**am so happy.** _

_**I am very happy that James and I bumped into them when we did. Also, I have asked Reg to drop by. Sirius mother is not happy, if her letter was anything to go by. Although Sirius looked very cheery when he read it. He actually attached it with a letter he sent to his father. That was weird. Anyways, I am fine, James has developed a crush, school is going great and Aunt Minnie seems to be pulling out her hair. Maybe send her some wine?** _

_Stop spreading rumors, Nix, I do NOT have a crush. She is just a nice girl with amazing green eyes and bright red hair. It looks very good on her and she is very intelligent and smart too. She is also kind and has a nice smile.... **Yeah, he doesn't has a crush, my bad.**_ _See, I told you. Huh? She is laughing. Oh, she was joking._ **_Idiot._ ** _Am not. **Are too.** Go away I am writing. Well she is nice but I don't have a crush. Girls are eww...  **Ouch!..** Oh shut up, you know what I mean!_

_ANYWAYS! We got our first detention, well Sirius and I did, while Nix and Remus got points. I think there is partiality going on. We all made the staircase into a slide. It was wonderful. G3 went down the slide three times. So did other students. Nix and Remus converted a small part of the slide back to staircase. It was brilliant. It was like we were in amusement park or something. The reason Nix and Remus got points was because Aunt Minnie saw them helping this one girl up when she slide without seeing and her stuff spread all over. That wasn't fair. But hey, my first detention!_

_**Now move, if you done whining about me skiving off detention. We are joining Hogwarts Orchestra and Frog choir (What is up with Flitwick? Frog choir, Merlin! He is a great teacher though.) James and Sirius have decided to join the drama club as well. Remus and I will be joining several study sessions. I figured I could help others who are struggling, plus I could meet new people. James and Sirius, say they are too cool to study. They are going to fail.**_ _Are not!_   ** _Bugger off!_** _Like you did?_

 _Oh Oh...Aunt Minnie was amazing. On the first day, she sat on the desk in her cat form and when two students came late and started dissing_  her _, she converted in front of them. They almost shaat themselves. It was brilliant!_ _**It was amazing! She was impressed with us four too. We need a name?**_ _Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Haven't come up with anything yet. Anyways, we love you and miss you. **Lots of hugs and kisses. And dad, stop crying over the fact that now we can send letters. Honestly! We love you a lot too. We will be fine.**_

_**Love** _

_**Phoenix and** _ _James._

 _PS: This is Sirius's owl Erwin. He got upset when Sirius used Mr Darcy. Sirius stop laughing. He is laughing because I named my owl_ Mr _. Idiot. The character was amazing. I am not talking to you. Shh. Feed Erwin some normal owl food, because Sirius hates his owl.-Nix_

_**PSS:** I don't hate my owl, Nix. You just treat your's like a freaking king. Hello Mr and Mrs Potter, how are you? I have to say your house, Gryffindor, is brilliant and Hogwarts food is delicious. Although, I think, Mrs Potter, you still have an edge. -Sirius_

_**PSSS:** _ _Could you send the prank stuff that is in my room, dad? Or else I would have order in again?-James_

_**PSSSS:** I will try my level best to keep them from getting expelled, Mr and Mrs Potter. Though no promises. Also, Nix is crazy if she thinks we would ever abandon her or James.- Remus_

_**PSSSSS** : We do love them. We will do everything to help and protect her, we solemnly swear.-Sirius _

Fleamont and Euphemia were crying at the end of letter and thanking Merlin, for giving her twins such gems of human beings as their friends. Happily, they replied back and sent home-cooked goodies along as well. 

* * *

_Mother and Father,_

_I have been sorted into Gryffindor! James, Nix and Sirius, all have also been sorted together. James and Sirius are actually my dorm mates. Its amazing. They are such good people. They are top of the class too. All three of them are brilliant. They are respectful to everyone._

_I have decided to join several study groups while others are joining other clubs as well. Nix, James and Sirius are joining Orchestra and Frog chorus, while James and Sirius have decided to join drama club as well. Nix and I have decided to help in backstage works. Life is going good. I have spoken with Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. I have to meet them on Monday and they will take me to you. I hope you would start to feel better, by then. We will talk more when I meet you on Monday._

_Love_

_Remus_

_Ps: We hope you get better soon, Mrs Lupin. We will take care of your son, don't worry about him, Okay?-James, Nix and Sirius._

* * *

_Father,_

_I am sure you must have heard by now, if not, let me the first to inform you. I have been sorted into Gryffindor. I won't have written to you after I read mother's letter but your words on train station prompted me to write. And as Nix said, there is no harm in trying._

_Gryffindor is great father. Everyone is loud, messy and so-not-proper. But they are also nice, friendly and caring. They haven't treated me any differently because I am a Black. Its been amazing. Here there are no hierarchy, everyone is their own person and allowed to be anything. I have decided to audition for orchestra, Frog choir and drama club. I am hoping to be selected. This year's batch has some talented students. It will be interesting._

_I was wondering you could send me some money, I would like to buy few new house things, if that's alright. Also, I was wondering if Reg could spend few days with Potters. Potters have taken their separation from twins quite hard. How have you been, Father?_

_Your Son,_

_Sirius._

_PS: Hey Lord Black, I was really hoping you could sent Reg for few hours every other week at least. My parents are not used to the quite. It could help. Please? Also we will take care of your son, who refuses to call my owl by proper name._

_PSS: I am_ not _calling an owl Mr, Nix. Stop telling everyone I mean because of that. Honestly, woman! Fine, girl! Merlin's Pants! I have attached Mother's letter for you to see._

 

_**Sirius** _

_**You absolute shame of my flesh! Blood traitor! Stain of dishonor! No, being friends with blood traitors and half-blood wasn't enough. You had to join them too, didn't you? Because you haven't given me enough shame. What face am I to show our relatives, when the HOUSE OF BLACK HEIR is in Gryffindor! The House that has been Slytherins since ages, is now going to Gryffindor. Unacceptable! Taint of shame on house of my fathers! Insolent child!**_

_**I will blast you from the family tree and make Regulus, my perfect boy, heir of this great house that you disrespect. Dancing with muggles like a common man. That's what you want! Fine you can do that when I blast you off. from family. I am going to make your life hell when you come back. Go to Dumbledore and get your sorting done again. If i don't hear by tomorrow from Bella that you are in Slytherin, I will personally come to drag you to that house. Shame! I can not believe I gave birth to a traitor. Go now! Or you won't have a home to come back to!** _

_**Mother** _

_**Ps: I am warning you, Sirius.** _

He read his wife's letter and got more furious as seconds went by. This stupid woman was trying to alienate his heir by her idiocy. He could see the perverse place where the politics of wizarding world hung in balance. After the bashing his family has taken by siding with Grindelwald, he wasn't willing to repeat the same mistake. They had only recovered their standing in the society.  Plus this heir and if, from what he could see, future bride would produce very best of next generations of off-springs. Phoenix was an intelligent and, already, very powerful witch, with brilliant family connection and standing. Blacks could only benefit from such a alliance. Only if his wife could control herself. Reg was smart and all; but Sirius had a charisma, strength and had what was required in the Black Heir. Well, he could, at least, salvage the situation.   

* * *

_Sirius,_

_I am happy that you have been selected in a house in which you have found acceptance and happiness. It doesn't really matter to me what house you go to. Your capabilities in the end will be your own. I am sure you would only improve our family name. Get the grades and you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't get expelled._

_My only requirement is that you give your 100% when I teach you about our family magic, from coming summer. As for your mother, ignore her. I think, she may have lost her senses for a while. I have sent 100 galleons in with this owl and a key to your allowance which would be should be enough. Its around 1 million galleons. If you require more, don't hesitate to write for more. You are the heir. Its all yours, anyways. All you have to do is write the account number on the request form and the money would be deducted automatically. I have spoken with Gringotts, you shouldn't have any issue. If you need to spend at Hogwarts, then the pouch that is attached with the owl, has direct connection with bank. It would be forever full and you can use it. Only you will be able to take out money from it. You can keep things in it for safe keeping as well._

_As for your brother, I have asked Fleamont if he would be willing to keep Reg with him till your mother calms down. I am going to go visit some business estates and businesses as well. It is a bit difficult to live here for now. Anyways, live the best years of your life to fullest Sirius. Do keep writing to me. Writing informal is not really my forte. I am hoping, it would improve soon enough. What do you think of my attempt so far, Nix?_

_Love_

_Father_

_Ps: Sirius, you should always call an owl by their proper name. Even if it is a bit unusual._

Sirius had misty eyes when he read his father's letter. So it wasn't a fluke at the train station. He really was okay as long as he did well in academics. He could do that without batting an eye. He felt so happy right now. Plus, his brother would be safe from his mother's rant and wrath, that was great. Also, he knew staying with Mr and Mrs Potter for any period of time would be great for him. He kind of envied him. 

But that was okay. He was at Hogwarts with his real friends, life was good. How his father knew Nix would be beside him while they were reading letter was baffling. But he was happy that his father seems to like talking to her. It was nice. He looked at the said girl, who smiled encouragingly and said,"See, even he is telling you to call Mr Darcy, Mr Darcy. Its not to hard, you know...." He just smiled and listened to her go on and on about how Mr Darcy was first romantic character she actually liked. Maybe he should read that muggle book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mrs Black wasn't very mean and vulgar because I think she was too proper lady to loose it completely. It was after years of being isolated and alone that she completely lost it.  
> Remus letter to his parents was small because the three have no concept of personal space as seen by the other letters. He didn't want to tell them about him being werewolf. Plus writing a lot won't be counterproductive to his story of going to visit his parents. the short reply of the others on letter was because, they didn't really meet his parents to be unfamiliar.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	10. Calm before the storm?

Today was the first class of Defense Against Dark Arts by Professor Theseus Scamander, brother of famous zoologist and brother of Newt Scamander. Twins have met Theseus on several occassion, he was kind, sweet and a brilliant duelist. He was also open minded and believed in practical approach towards every topic. He was quite experienced and used to be Head Aurora, so according to Frank, most of his chapters were about his personal experience. Today's topic though had Remus on edge for some reason. 

"Welcome class. Now, Defense against dark arts its not just about learning hexes, curses and jinxes. It is to develop an ability to fight and protect as well. We will also be learning about certain creatures that has been classified as dangerous and dark. But to quote my brother 'The only animal to be afraid of is a human!' Isn't that the truth in the present scenario."

"I was head auror during Grindelwald's reign of terror. Let me tell you. The time period was considered gruesome and Britain wasn't even hit. This time though the eye of the storm, so to speak, is Britain. So lets take this subject more seriously." Sirius nodded looking important and everyone smiled. 

"So now, the first topic of your curriculum is 'Curing of werewolf cuts.' (Remus shifted uncomfortably). Now who can tell me about werewolves? Yes, Mr Black."

"They are humans but they turn into werewolves at every full moon. They turn usually because they were bitten by a full grown werewolf. There is no cure." Sirius replied evenly.

"Yes, very correct. Werewolves are humans that were bitten by some other wolves, most of them have no mind of their own but that of the werewolves. Now, what is the ministry stand on werewolves?"

"They are to be registered and are supposed to lock themselves in a warded room for the night. Any werewolf that bites or kills a human is directly ordered to be killed.", said a Ravenclaw named Allie Woods.

"True, true. But the question is are the humans, who carry the curse, responsible for the action of werewolves?"asked the professor.

"No. Its like saying that I will be punished for crimes my parents or grand parents committed. The person is not responsible as that person has no control over himself. Why to marginalize against people who are normal but actually suffering from a curse, painful one at that?" Nix responded

"But werewolves kill people and those who don't, curse others. They should be put down.", sharp response came from Zack Smith, Ravenclaw. Remus was stooped in and looked very worn out.

"You do know that people who kill other people under imperious curse are not considered to liable for murder of other people, right? (Smith nodded) So you are saying that a person, who has no control over his mind or body, just like in imperious curse, is liable to be charged murder under the same circumstances?", challenged James

"No the only reason, You and the rest of the ministry want to kill werewolves is because they can't overpower the werewolves, whereas humans under imperious is not a huge issue. The reason reason is fear of dominance. The person who has been cursed cannot be at fault." continued Nix      

"But they are savages even as humans!", Exclaimed Cady.

"Why are you so concerned about some beasts welfare?", spat out Smith. Remus visibly flinched.

"Its called being human. You should try it sometime.", retorted Nix

"Just because you are human, doesn't make you overlord of the world. The other creatures deserve same respect and space to live as you and me." saying this, James dismissed Smith and looked at professor.

"I agree with the Potters, you can't lable people, creatures based on one instance. For example, maybe the reason werewolves are so 'dangerous' in human form is because they have no jobs, ways of surviving, standing in society or even nominal education. They are treated worse then piece of dirt and yet you expect them to worship land you walk?" Sirius aksed the class at large.

Remus was looking at three of them with something akin to hope, wonder and love for such kind, considerate  _humans._ Could he tell them? But talking the talk, and walking the talk were different things. He didn't want to be shunned or _feared_. 

"Very eloquently put by Mr Potter, Miss Potter and Mr Black. Werewolves are dark creatures but the humans they possess every other month are not. Maybe its time to rethink our age old thoughts."

"As per my brother, being a werewolf is a disease, like dragon pox, only longer, harsher and with direr results, called Lycanthropy. It is a magical illness known to be spread by contact between saliva and blood; thus, when a transformed werewolf bites a human, the bitten will become a werewolf themselves. Most muggles, however, will die from the extent of their injuries in the instance of a werewolf attack, though some do survive to become werewolves themselves." 

"If a werewolf is in human form and bites the victim, they will merely gain lupine tendencies such as a fondness for rare meat. Though, these cases have been extremely rare. Any bite or scratch obtained from a werewolf, whether in human or animal form, will leave permanent scars. However, the fresh wound can be sealed with a mixture of powdered silver and dittany. Werewolves don't tend to reproduce so as to not pass on the disease to their child." At this Nix had a furrow and looked in deep thought. Remus didn't know why.

"Because werewolves only pose a danger to humans, companionship with animals whilst transformed has been known to make the experience more bearable as the werewolf has no-one to harm and will be less willing to harm themselves."

At this Nix raised her hand,"So does animal has to be animal or does animagus work too?" She looked curious at this.

"No, animagus works in same way. In Africa many werewolves have companions in form of animagus buddies of their. Its an adventure for the animagus you see and it helps their friend too. Miss Evans?"

"What is an animagus?" Evans asked curiously

"Ah, an animagus is when an human can transform into an animal at will. Not like transfiguring yourself into one but becoming an animal. This makes you an animal. More about this later."answered Professor. 

"Now then, I want you all you write about ways to identify werewolves and if there are any cures for their cuts (3 inches) and I want you to write a comparison of situation of werewolves with some other part of history or present part of society. It can be muggle or magical (5 inches). All students who participated will get 5 points each. Chop chop. Class dismissed!"saying this Scamander left the class. 

* * *

Lily Evans was in a world of wonder and magic. Hogwarts was everything Sev told her and more. The people were mostly nice and friendly. They didn't seem to mind explaining her wizarding culture or things. Her house mates were funny and nice. Especially the quarter.

Twins were especially something. Every class they have taken to see how quickly they could break a teacher into smiling. They seems to crack them in seconds. They were both genuinely funny, nice and helpful.  Nix didn't need any help or study partners, she was brilliant. But she liked to help others, so most of the study sessions would be her explaining things to other muggle-born and half-bloods, and even some purebloods. Lily once saw Nix discussing some subject matter with Frank, their 5th year Prefect.

That was other thing, she seemed to know a lot of them before she arrived at Hogwarts. The twins and Sirius were something of royalty, Sev explained it to her. Sirius's family was the royalty of 28 sacred pureblood and were historically Slytherins. They were vastly wealthy and were notoriously pureblood. They had quite few in-family wedding to keep the bloodline pure. Sirius's parents were real  brother and sister. That was just disturbing, which Sirius has wholly agreed. The fact that he was now a Gryffindor was a cause of lots of anger towards him from Sev's house, but Sirius just smiled at their anger. He said it restored his faith and love in his new house.

The twins were great grandchild of their Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, who was the leader of Light and one of the most powerful man in wizarding world. Though the twins were Pureblood, their family has never been pureblood fanatics. Potters were known to marry into muggles frequently and yet producing powerful off-springs. This caused ire in other sacred pureblood families and  they did not include them in their group; which the Potters never really cared about.

Potters were very rich as well. They had family businesses of several shops and property but more than that it was their personal accomplishment which filled their coffers. Lord Potter, the head of house was called Lord apparently, was a famous potioneer who had patented several potions, like Sleekeazy's hair potion and fatigue removal potion. Lady Potter, wife of the Lord was Lady, was not only a famous cultural and ancient runes writer, but also a famous curse breaker. They were infamous among purebloods for having very close relations with several muggles, muggle-born and half bloods. 

The Potter household also held a refuge for several creatures and animals in their house and had converted several of their properties as safe haven for these creatures. Lily thought it was incredible to be so thoughtful for others. She could understand the point of view of Potter twins in the werewolf debate. Their opinion was spread through the school like wildfire and they didn't shy from offering their support. What was more amazing was they did that with words that left others reeling and begrudgingly, agree in a way.    

Friendship between Sirius's father and twin's Father was another case of heated speculation in the Slytherin. Sev said that their friendship was as unlikely as Hitler becoming fast friends with Mahatma Gandhi. But, their friendship was very fast and strong. In fact, it was rumored that the younger Black was placed under Potter custody for time being by Lord Black. It was all unheard of and was causing ripples in the wizarding world. 

Lily saw the quarter in the library section, not really in any section that they needed for homework. That was, the other thing. They all seemed to complete their homework while she has never seen any of them even open their books.

Lily went back to her Herbology homework. 'Write ways to identify and counter the spiky bushes.' When she heard, the chair being drawn next to her. Nix came and sat down heavily,  carrying several books.

Lily couldn't help but smile brightly at the cheerful girl. She was so nice and generally very affectionate. She did look sad at times and had a far off-look. Whenever this happened the rest of the three would distract her or others around her. She has seen Nix give random hugs to her group, people she knew before or even some professors after class. The quarter would give each other hugs too. They didn't seem to shy away from showing physical affection. The way professors seem to melt under her hugs was an amazing sight. The funnier side was when Sirius and James, together, would go for a hug after her, while Remus would smile ruefully. The surprise and then small smile on the professor's faces were hilarious. She has received Nix's hug too and it was like a warm summer morning with birds chirping and shining. 

"So what'cha doing?", Nix asked in a sweet voice. She saw Sev blink. Lily giggled at the imitation of the cartoon character Isabella, in the show, Phineas and Ferb. "Herbology", Lily replied, showing her the essay.

"Ah, need any help?" Nix asked while sorting through her books. Lily saw some titled werewolves, other had herbology name, and other subjects they have been taught. But these books looked advanced. At her questioning look, Nix explained," I like to read about the topics we are taught in detail. Normally, they don't teach us in depth till 4th year. I am just curious." She shrugged.

"Just because we are half blood or muggle born, doesn't mean you have constantly show off, you are better than us? We can manage just fine, without your help." spat out Sev to Nix. Lily looked very disapprovingly at Sev and was about to reprimand.

"It must be very difficult living in a house of Power with no power or family prestige. I know how wizarding politics play and I am sorry for all the crap you have to put up with, honestly. But, you don't have to bite my head off. Anyways, this book that you are reading is dung. Try this one, Alice Greenway, a Herbology protege, told me about it, and it explains things very easily." Nix replied calmly and not looking even a bit put off by Severus's rude behavior.

The quarter had, in very short time, developed friendship in almost every year and every house. They were all brilliantly talented, intelligent, nice and humorous. They had become a sort of celebrity in the school, especially after their very funny prank.

At breakfast, everyone was eating, suddenly people at random had their hair color or hair style change on their own. Even breads of professors. Dumbledore spotted a lovely purple colored beard. McGonagall hair had come out of her bun and was flowing curvy, she looked quite beautiful. Seeing this the twins actually whistled and called ''You look beautiful professor!' At this Professor McGonagall scowled at them but then smiled fondly. 

The colors were obnoxiously bright and hair styles were hilarious. Lily hair put Medusa's hair to shame. While Sirius had his hair colored neon color, James hair grew longer but they grew straight up (so it looked like a porcupine has nestled there) and Remus's hair curled into themselves going upward forming a circular tomb. They looked at each and started to laugh so hard that tears were pouring out of their eyes.

Then Nix opened her mouth and a voice like when you inhale Helium came out. Everyone around them collapsed on the floor and then Nix proceeded to sing a song in that voice, which had even teachers cracking up. Dumbledore's eyes seems to be twinkling madly. The kicker was not that hilarious display but the fact that as everyone left the great hall, everyone's clothes changed colors to different colors as well. It took a while for them to notice because they were so focused on their hair.

The teachers couldn't remove the charm at the door, so every time anyone entered or exited the great hall, their clothes color changed, including the teachers. Though the highlight was watching Rosier, a absolute nasty human, (her hair reduced to spikes with few hair around like a bush) and Rowle, another nasty person, (ugly magenta color). Sev had his hair stand into spikes. He has been mad about it since then. The hair style and color remained the whole day. Next morning the color change charm and hair styles had faded abck to normal.        

James came from behind them and glared at Sev with Sirius and Remus, not far behind. This was also something she adored about these four friendship. Somehow, they knew when the other needed them. They would just appear out of thin air.

He smiled at Lily, which seems at make the others snicker and James just muttered something. While Sev looked very uncomfortable and put-off. "Let's go Nix, we need to visit the owlery. Sirius has craving for Mom's cookies."

At this Nix looked amused at Sirius, who was looking cool without effort, how he did that Lily will never know, and shrugged unabashed. "Didn't we get a batch like three days ago?"

James jabbed a finger at Remus, "Surprisingly,  _he_ ate them before Sirius could get a second bite. We had a good wrestling match after that." The three boys nodded sagely. The girls burst into giggle which cause the three of them to smile happily, while Sev frowned and looked more disgruntled. Nix nodded, took three books, James just shook his head, "You really have become obsessed with this you know..." the words trailed as they left.

Lily looked at Sev disapprovingly. "Why were you being so rude, Sev? They were being nice and Nix helps everyone."

Sev replied heatedly," Yes exactly! Why? So that she can become famous and cool. She just wants to tell everyone that she is better. And what is with her always hanging out those three boys. They roam around the school like they own it. The professors are all biased towards them."

Lily just looked sadly at Sev, wondering if this was what Slytherin was like. Did no one help each other unless they got something out of it? It was a very sad way of living. 

"No Sev, she wants to help us so that we don't feel felt out. She says she hates that we don't really know about wizarding culture till its late and then have to suffer years to catch up to it all. She is not trying to be cool. She is, naturally. I don't want you to be mean to her, alright? She is my friend."

"Are those boys your friends too, then?", asked Sev bitterly.

"Of course, they are! They are all nice, too." a confused Lily replied

"Fine, then! You don't need me. You have them. "hissed Sev harshly as he packed his stuff.

"Don't be stupid, Sev. One can have more than a friend, you know. You are my best friend. Stop worrying about it." Said Lily sweetly.

Sev looked at her for a while then nodded. They continued their work. Although Severus didn't like those four at all. He will not have them steal his only friend away from him.

* * *

Time passed quickly as students got settled in their classes and made friends. Lily became good friends with Marlene, Nix and her boys. Although, Sev was still her best friend. He would grumble when she would spend time with others, which she expertly ignored. Remus was absent from the quarter again, his mother was ill quite often and he would get permission to visit his mother. She thought it was nice of Dumbledore to allow him to leave so often. 

James, Sirius and Nix have joined the orchestra and Frog choir. Lily went to hear them practice and started to cry at the beautiful music composition that accompanied Nix soulful voice.  She couldn't wait for the final performance before Christmas holidays. James and Sirius joined drama club too, which Lily also joined after a lot of coaxing from others. Nix and Remus would help in their prop departments, sometimes. 

Lily approached the three. Sirius saw her and smiled at her and waved her to sit down. She noticed that Nix seemed to be in deep thought and James was staring at her in concern. Sirius waved it off and said cheerfully,"Jamie here is shocked that Nix hasn't devoured her waffle yet!" At this both of them reeled from their thoughts, almost identical,  and smiled at Lily.

Lily knew that wasn't it but let it slide. She smiled and gave 6-8 books on rabbies and vaccination method and process to Nix, who smiled gratefully. "Oh thank you. You are the best! How much for the books?"

"Oh books did cost a bit much, I am sorry but you wanted the best research. It costed around 500 pounds in total. Why are you interested in them anyways?" Lily asked conversationally. She saw Sirius and James stiffened and glance at an unruffled Nix, who simply took off 500 pounds, just as you please, and gave it to her.

"Oh nothing, I find muggle medicine incredible, plus rabies seemed such an odd disease that I wanted to read about it. I mean such a horrid disease from dogs seems awful, doesn't it? I mean mom has been using it as an excuse to not get a dog for ages, I figured if I have a bit of knowledge it would be helpful." She shrugged nonchalantly. Although Sirius and James nodded, but she could see they were holding back something.

Nix then expertly changed the topic, "So Halloween? Excited? What have you decided to dress up as?" Lily nodded excitedly and said,"Yes! I am planning on coming as Tinker bell. I have asked Alice to charm my wings so they could fly!!" she replied dreamily. "What about you guys?"

Sirius eyes twinkled and said,"Well, Jamie was actually dressing up as Peter Pan. You both could go as a couple. ( They both got slightly pink color in their cheek) They say there is couples' competition too. I am going as Aladdin and my fair lady here is dressing up as Princess Jasmine." (Nix was grumbling and James started to laugh)

"I wanted to go as Moana or Merida or even Belle. But I lost a bet with this git here, when he named all the stars in Canis Major Constellation first. Which has the star he was named after, so of course he knew. So now, I  _have_  togo as a couple with him. Idiot. It was either Cinderella or Jasmine. I prefer Jasmine more. At least I would be able to breath in that dress!" ranted an irate Nix. Sirius was grinning maniacally. 

"Why couples though?" Lily asked. Nix just gave Sirius a sharp look." He didn't want me to have a costume that matched with Austin, after he heard, Austin ask me what I planned on dressing up as."

"Are you serious?" asked an incredulous Lily.

Nix let out a long suffered sigh when James said from her side,"Of course he is! He is Sirius Black, after all." The two started to crack up. "I miss Remus." loudly muttered Nix and stuck out her tongue at mock-affronted look of the two black-haired boys. 

"You have got us, darling. Don't you worry dear, we will take care you." said Sirius while smothering Nix with his bear hug. James nodded in agreement while finishing off Nix's waffle. Lily shook her head in amusement at their antics. "What about Remus?"

Nix grinned and said," He has decided to go as Edna Mode from Incredible! So that he could be judgmental, mean and sarcastic while we all acted like idiots!" 

"He will have pre-mature grey hairs!" said James, sadly with mirth in his eyes.

"Yes, especially if hangs around you lot!" joked Lily. James face lit up like Christmas at her comment. Nix and Sirius just snickered. "I am planning on going as Prince Charming!" interjected a high pitch, mousy voice. Nix stiffened and stared straight ahead. 

This was something that Sev pointed out that Nix would go out of the way to stay away from Peter. He was a shy, sweet boy who she thought just wanted to be their friend. But Nix, for whatever, reason was not comfortable around him; and her brother and, in extension, Sirius and Remus, would do anything for her, gently sidelined him every time. She didn't understand it, Nix was nice to everyone, including Bellatrix who would positively spew fire, whenever she saw her. In fact, Nix looked amused at the 5th year Slytherin, who made no qualms of hiding her affinity to dark arts, efforts of getting a rise out of her. But with Peter.....

Lily saw James and Sirius take in Nix's reaction but didn't say anything. They turned to ask Peter if his costime design was complete or if he needed help. Peter looked delighted but she could see that he figured out that Nix was the reason, he wasn't even their friend yet. Even in study session, whenever Peter asked something, Remus would take over while Nix would get busy with something else. It was not very open but done very casually.

Nix simply got up, taking the books Lily got her, said, "I will start getting a read ahead before the class. I reckon I can complete a few chapters at least. I will see you all in the class then." Sirius and James looked sad but nodded. Nix left and 'Siriusly' ( she has been spending a lot of time with them) this was first time, she has seen Nix being even remotely cold towards anyone. She let the matter rest as Peter visibly got excited to have their attention, started to explain his outfit.   

* * *

It looked like an explosion has taken place in the girls dorm where everyone was rushing to get ready, well except for Nix, who was sleeping soundly. Alice, who came in to help the girls with Molly Cooper (another 5th year), decided to wake her up. Nix just yawned and said "Five more minutes!' and went back to sleep. Alice who was wearing a Dirty dancing costume, just shrugged.

Literally, when everyone was ready, and James yell came from downstairs,"Nix, hurry up! For Merlin's sake!" Nix got up, went to washroom. She had showered in under two minutes. All the girls stopped to look at her. But she was busy getting dressed up. She wore her blue Jasmine dress, the golden necklace and earring (they looked real gold. Were probably. Potters were rich. They didn't flaunt it, but they were.). She wore her sandal, all in under three minutes. Saw herself in mirror and waved her wand on her hair. Her hair magically braided and had Jasmine flowers embedded in a delicate style. She finished the whole look by applying a bright red lipstick and mascara. 

She was done getting ready in five minutes and looked absolutely stunning. All girls just looked at her, in awe and envy at her ability to look so pretty, so quickly and without any effort. Then she cocked her eyebrows and everyone started to frantically get dressed. Marlene was going as sailor, Cady as Princess bride and Karen as Cinderella. Nix decided to get photo of everyone. She waved her wand and muttered an incantation, which would let the camera take their pictures randomly and when she commanded it. 

They all posed and then decided to go. Lily looked a bit nervous and was staring at her outfit in the mirror. Nix gave her an encouraging smile. They both proceeded to go down. The seven boys, Remus returned a couple of days ago looking worn, with the three girls from their batch was waiting for them. At seeing Lily descend first, James smiled and said,"You look like a fairy, Lily!" who smiled in happiness and her wings fluttered. 

Making Nix snort, which brought everyone attention to her. James and Sirius's eyes widened and they exclaimed,"You look like girl!" to which Nix looked unimpressed.

Remus, the only sensible one, came forwards kissed her cheek and said,"You look absolutely beautiful, Nix!" Nix smiled blinded them. "Alright lets go!" 

James put his hand out for Lily, who blushed but took it. James ignored the smiles from the other three. Remus moved with the others, while Sirius came towards Nix, who was adjusting her necklace. "You look really beautiful, Nix", he said it really sweetly. Nix looked at him and smiled. Then eyed him, he looked very handsome with open vest that exposed his chest and white Arabian pant. She smiled and straightened his hat. Then they both went towards the Halloween fest. The fest was on in full mode. So they all decided to have fun. They danced with each other, laughed, ate a lot and danced some more. When the time for students below 3rd year to go to back to their dorms came, the professor simply lit a golden spark from their wands.

Nix, who was dancing with Sirius, saw the gold light and froze. She had a look of horror and reeled. When Remus came in her view, she sucked in a deep breath. Sirius took hold of her hand and led her to the caved room. He hugged her and let her breath it out. James came running and seeing Nix, he went to a picture next to him and asked him to get Dumbledore fast. Nix was shaking and her teeth were shattering. She looked at James and launched herself at him.

James looked scared at her reaction. They didn't understand what was happening. Dumbledore came running in and saw Nix. He looked her in the eye and she nodded. He told them that he was taking her to his office and once she calmed down, he will send someone to bring them. James still looked scared at her reaction, to which Dumbledore gave him a hug. Dumbledore left with a shaking Nix; and three terrified boys were left staring at them.   

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snape would be jealous and mean to them because he came from an abusive household. he would be jealous of Lily's friendship with the quarter. He doesn't want to share her only friend. He would still be jealous of James.  
> James would be different as he has sister, so won't act that obnoxiously.  
> What do you think Nix saw?  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	11. Darkness

The night was pitch black and they seem to be in a graveyard, the same graveyard where she saw Peter Pettigrew torture a boy. What she didn't tell James or the rest was that the boy, Peter seems to be gleefully torturing was spit image of James, except for his eyes. So the child he was torturing was her nephew. His brother's son was being  _tortured_ by that weak, weasel of a man. But this graveyard scene was different. 

She saw the boy and a man(?). The man didn't look like a man, he had a man's body but it was disfigured or looked like parts of his body refused to form. He had not no nose( _that image was haunting. Thank Merlin, more humans had nose._ ). There were two snake like slits on his face to breath( _she hoped! Or maybe this ghoul of a man hurled boogies or fire out of his slit_ s). He had no hair, not even an eyebrow ( _again the need for eyebrows could not be stressed more. Did his hair just give up and abandon him, saying it won't matter. He will be still look as ghastly as he did now._ ). His eyes were blood red, like there was no white or any other color, just blood red( _or maybe his eyes just exploded after seeing himself in mirror._ ). He looked hideous but had an aura of danger, death and insanity in him. He didn't feel human.

She sucked in a breath. 

Her nephew and the devil like creature had wands out ( _the grotesque man wasn't able to hold the wand properly in his deformed hands; though he made it look like an art_ )  and the spells collided in center and was forming a golden light in the center. Her nephew was winning, and she couldn't have been more proud. His red spell met with the devil like creature's, Nix decided to call him 'Lump' to shorten it up, wand and something happened. Voices could be heard from the Lump's wand, and Lump looked scared ( _Good!_ _For_   _someone who looked like everyone's nightmare. He should be scared of something as well)_. 

Then the boy who she saw die by Peter's wand came out of the Lump's wand; then an old man; then  _her brother_ came out; then Lily,  _LILY!!!,_ came out with same eyes as her nephew.

Oh my god! Her brother was going to marry Lily and create this brave young man. They both had hungry look in their eyes as if seeing the young man for the very first time. This did not settle well in Nix's stomach. Her brother told his son, _Merlin! they looked just like each_ _other_ , to grab the trophy (huh? backstory missing!) which would turn into port key. Lily told him she was proud and the boy looked ready to cry. Why?

Oh. _OH! The baby Lily died to protect was this boy! He survived!! But wait, her brother......Oh Merlin! oh Merlin! Her brother and his wife are dead. The child is probably talking to them for the first time.Oh Merlin! Where is she? Why didn't she protect them? How could she let this happen??? Focus, Nix, see where you are maybe you can prevent it_  this in _future. Nothing, just a graveyard at night. She couldn't even see another grave to identify the graveyard later. She decided to walk towards one but then...._

The golden connection broke and and the 'ghosts?' started circling a startled Lump. Her nephew grabbed the body of the the ghost boy and accioed the cup (he was powerful, she thought proudly.)

And he was hurt, _she was an awful aunt_. She had been so busy being horrified by the Lump that she didn't notice that her _nephew was hurt._ She had _just_  realized he was bleeding from several places and his arm was bleeding profusely. She felt very angry at herself to let this happen to her brother's heart and pride. How could she? There was flurry of movement when she realized it was just not them in the graveyard, but hordes of people wearing masks and with their wands out. 

One of them looked like Lucius Malfoy, that hair and arrogance was unmistakable. They were death eaters. All of them were death eaters. Her nephew vanished leaving behind fury and anger.

Wait, if they were death eaters, then  _MERLIN BE SPARED! HER NEPHEW JUST DUELED WITH VOLDEMORT AND SURVIVED! Her brother and sister-in-law were killed by Voldemort! This grotesque guy was VOLDEMORT! Her nephew had killing curses just missing him!! Her nephew has seen someone being killed at age 14!! Oh, MERLIN!!! Oh, MERLIN!!!_

She came to herself and realized that the strong arms holding her and voice telling her to breath was Sirius, who sounded shaken. Her brother ashen face came into her view. After what she saw, she just flew to him and hugged daylights out of him. She could feel him shaken and more worried than ever. But she couldn't help it, she needed reassurance that he was fine. That he was there physically, not some ghost form. 

Her eyes collided with another blue eyes who looked scared for her. She gave him a nod and let him hold her hand. He said something to the boys, she was leaving behind. But she couldn't concentrate. As soon as she reached G3's private room, she spilled out her guts about everything. G3 looked horrified and angry. He held her in his arm for a long time.

Nix took a deep breath, looked at G3 and said resolutely," I can't.... _won't_ tell James this. It will destroy him. If he is so protective of me, that even a slight discomfort sends him in over-protective mood. Listening about this would kill him. He would slowly die trying to find a way to stop it, but unable to stop it would make him lose it. I will  _not loose my brother."_

"I will tell you everything and we will put a stop to it. I think I know why I was chosen, I am dead in this future. If I am to die, I will save them all if I possibly can."

"We will _not_ tell them. We will tell James and others that telling them will make me more vulnerable as those powerful in legilimency could read their mind. Then come to torture and find the answers from me. That is not far from truth anyways. He knows I am as adept at legilimency and occlumency as are you." G3 nodded gravely, called in a house elf, Ulla, to get the boys here.

G3 gave Nix hot chocolate to drink. They both sat in quietly for a while and then Nix asked him, "So Remus's a werewolf?" At G3's nod, she simply added,"The whooping willow?". He nodded again. They fell quite, she continued to sip her drink.

James,Sirius and Remus came flying in. James had a terrified look on his face but when he saw that both of them looking calm, he breathed in deeply. He was still concerned. He looked at G3 who conjured three sofas. The boys plopped down.

"Your sister has another vision of future, we think. We don't know if the future is set in stone like a seer's. Before you ask what it is, I need to ask you something. What will happen if those on either side of the upcoming war realize that Nix can see the future and their deaths or even a version of it? Especially, those on dark side?"

"They would try to get information out of her through any means.", said a stricken Sirius. The boys, white as sheet, were watching Nix who was pacing in the room.

"Yes, that is why I request you all not to question her. She will tell you things she thinks won't affect you or jeopardize you. None of you are adept at occlumency. So your one slip could cost her her life or worse, days under torture. So I would request you to not question her." G3 said in a grave tone.  

"I want to tell you, Merlin, we have never hid anything from each other. But I don't want to be responsible for putting any of you in danger.  _I won't survive it!_  I can handle the pain, might need a while to adjust to it but I can. If I put any of you in danger, then I would never forgive myself. So please, please try to understand?" Nix begged of them, her pleading eyes were on her brother though. 

Her brother got up and hugged her. "Of course, I understand! Now I wish I had learned occlumency with you instead of studying about self transformation and quidditch. I could have helped you carry your burden, but if it puts you in even minute danger, then I will keep my quite. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid!"

A relieved Nix nodded and said with such intense emotion,"Promise! Thank you, thank you for understanding!" "Forever!", came equally intense response.

They both looked at the other two, Remus came first and hugged her saying," I am here to help you in any way, you know that!"

Sirius stayed in his seat looking pensive, he looked at Dumbledore and asked,"How much time does it take to learn occlumency?" 

"Too long, even for a strong mind. It took Nix three years to perfect it when she did little of anything else. But Sirius, despite your father's changing alliances, your relatives are foremost supporters of Voldemort. They might not be as lenient as he is and after a while you would break down with the same result."

"I respect the feelings but the consequences are too dire. It will put her in danger beyond what any one of us could phantom. To put you all and myself at ease."

"I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, swear on my love for my great granddaughter that I will do everything, _everything_ in my power to protect her, so mote it be!." Magic swirled around Dumbledore and Nix, who smiled gratefully at him.

Sirius nodded at Dumbledore then went to Nix and gave her a hug. The four of them left for the tower immersed in their own thoughts. 

* * *

Nix was in turmoil. She wanted to tell them but she knew what would happen if she told them everything. Their life would shatter and they would try to change things without thinking it through. She won't do anything without having a well thought out plan and with G3, it won't be impossible to change the future. Determination settled in her bones and she breathed for what felt like the first time. They had entered the common room. 

James had yet to remove his hand from her shoulder. She looked at him and anxiously asked him, "Is it okay if I bunk with you, tonight? I don't think I can sleep alone."

James face broke into a smile and said,"Absolutely. Do you want to go up to change or you could wear my clothes?" Nix look made him steer her towards his dorm. They entered and the boys waited outside while she changed.

"Sirius!", warning tone of Remus made James look at Sirius.

"It doesn't feel right to let her be in it all by herself. She is in danger! And we going to let her be?? Did you see her after that vision? Merlin! She won't stop shaking. She was scared! I have never seen her like that. Don't deny it, you haven't either!" Ranted Sirius looking pointedly at James.

James looked uncharacteristically grave,"She is my half. I know her. I know that till she has more information she won't tell us anything. I know that if I push her, she would shut down and, even the possibility of her opening up in future would be gone."

"You want to know about what scared her, so do I. But I trust her. _I love her_! If she wants to be normal, then that's what I will do. I love her more than anything Sirius. She loves me so much that if she thinks that sharing the information would even slightly disturb peace of my mind, she won't tell me."

"Are you ready to have the knowledge but be the reason of why she would be tortured to point of insanity and killed? ( Sirius flinched back) Then I suggest you let it rest. Make her comfortable. She is and will go through a lot. I don't want her to lose her smile and happiness. So help her keep that, if you love her even a little bit." Saying this he turned towards the door.

Nix stepped out looking tired and yawned. She climbed in James bed and gave them a small smile. They returned it and went to change. Sirius looked at James and nodded. Remus smiled at both of them. They came out to see Nix looking out of the window. James stood beside her and nudged her. She smiled and nodded.

They both as one-turned, went to James bed, slide down and hugging each close, went to sleep. Sirius and Remus smiled at that and went to sleep. Remus was thankful that Peter was a heavy sleeper and didn't hear a word.

* * *

It was dream. _It was a dream._ She is not being tortured for information because he let Bella break his mind barrier. She is fine. She is _safe_. She is here, not in the hell-hole, he calls  _home_.

He just needed to make sure of it. He padded across the floor towards James bed. He opened the curtain to see Nix staring back at him with James sleeping peacefully next to her, with his head near her heart. She patted the space in the bed next to her.

Sirius didn't think twice and laid down on the space next to her. He hugged her and placing his head above her head. He breathed her in. She smelled wonderful. She smelled like summer and chocolate. He sighed. It settled some of his nerve. She kissed him on his exposed neck and settled in. They both fell asleep like that. Both glad the other was fine. 

* * *

Next morning, Peter woke up to a very weird sight. Not seeing Remus in his boxers with bed head and toothbrush in his mouth, while toothpaste dripped down. That was a common sight.

But, when James opened his curtain, Phoenix and Sirius were sleeping side by side, looking very peaceful together. James closed the curtain, went to get ready. 

"Why is Phoenix here? And why is she sleeping with Sirius and you?", Peter asked James.

James shrugged and said, "She missed me, so she came to sleep besides me. We used to do that back at home a lot. Sirius felt left out, so he joined us. I think Remus was too out to join us?", teased James 

"Or I just valued my sanity more.", Came the dry response of Remus.

Peter shook his head. He knew that wasn't the real reason. But then they didn't ever include him in anything. They weren't mean or anything, they just politely ignored him. While they were alone in dorm they were friendly, but when Nix would join them, they would look sorry but won't include him in anything. What problem did that girl have with him? He hasn't even spoken to her much! She was nice to _everyone_ , even the Slytherins you were absolutely nasty to her at times. 

He means he has seen Rosier and Rowle take special digs at her, but somehow Nix always seems to turn it back on them. And Bellatrix Black, scared him shit-less. But Nix seems to find the 5th year amusing. But, whenever _he_ came near her, she would stiffen and move away.

At first he thought, it was because he wasn't the academically strong. So she didn't know how to talk to him. But that wasn't the case. He had seen her talk to Kramer, who is dumber than he was, so nicely and politely. She explained everything patiently to Kramer. He didn't understand what he did. But whatever it was, it was costing him.

He could see how powerful and strong James and Sirius would be. They were already brilliant at every subject and he has never seen them with a book. They were funny, smart and protective of who they considered their own. He could use some protection and friends. They spent money like it was nothing. He has seen Galleons lying around in their bed. They were also very popular among everyone. Even professors smiled at their antics. 

They did a Halloween themed prank on eve of Halloween (instead of Halloween, they wanted to enjoy the holiday). At breakfast, at the end of it, everyone's head turned temporarily into different animals or things, all Halloween themed. Ravens,pumpkins, tentacles, owls, cat, dog, spiders, you name it. The best part was no one was spared, even the James, Nix, Sirius and Remus who turned to pumpkin, pumpkin, dog and raven respectively. The twins looked at each other said,"Wow! We are identical!" It was funny to see the animal faces talk in their human counterpart voice. It was hilarious. 

Then Nix shouted "Who let the dogs out?" All the muggle-borns and half blood who knew about it, howled and woofed at top of their lungs. Sirius got so excited that he wanted to do the howling thing again. Then Josh Jones from Hufflepuff started to sing that song and more than half of the great hall joined in. The end of the song was finished with a roof-top blowing howling from all the students.

He actually heard Professor Slughorn compliment the four on their excellent use of potion for a harmless funny prank and awarded them 15 points each. He saw Snape glare at the four. Slughorn has been trying to butter up the four up (he realized quickly that you get a quarter or nothing, when he dismissed Remus), so that the four would come to his Slug parties. The four have steadfastly refused. 

He wanted to be part of that group, and be invited to the party. He needed to get on good side of Phoenix fast. He just couldn't think how. Thinking about all of this he followed James and Remus to breakfast, "They will come when they wake up.", James said as they left. "James, you were brilliant in transfiguration, even Phoenix can't catch up to you in that subject." James snorted,"Nix could beat a 6th year student, if she wanted."

Remus shook his head, if Peter plan of entering the group was to compete the two siblings against each other, he didn't really know how fiercely they loved each other. He watched on, amused, at Peter's attempt butter James up. He felt bad for the guy, but if Nix wasn't comfortable, they won't really befriend him. Remus knew whatever she saw about Peter made her cold towards him. It has to be bad enough for Nix to react that way. 

* * *

Nix woke up to a strong set of arms holding her gently and a short blows of air blowing in her hair in a rhythm. The soothing musky with slight hint of cardamon scent of Sirius, cocooned her. It was so relaxing after the last night. She settled closer to him, he tightened his hold on her in response. It was nice. Well, the 'vision' cannot be helped right now, but they could help their dear friend. She needed to know Sirius's view about Remus being a werewolf. It would decide the future of their course of action. James and she both have known for a month now. 

Many of their estates were used by werewolves to change for the night. It gave them open area, plus with wards around, they wouldn't harm anyone. They have met many and learned to recognize the signs. Plus, she had a vision of him converting in front of her in front of the whooping willow. So, that was a big clue. She didn't know how he didn't attack the children then. Maybe the werewolves can be tamed? Or at least controlled. Hmm... maybe magic and muggle together combined could cure or at least make it more bearable. She had written to her father, who has agreed to research on it, and was planning on discussing it with Nix during Christmas break.

While she was contemplating, Sirius started to form a pattern in form of infinity keeping her eyes in center, while his other hand moved at slow pace trailing her spine. She looked in his molten-grey eyes, which were shining with friendship, concern and something that looked like, love. She smiled at him. He smiled back. They just continued to look at each other for a while, before Nix said,"We need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't notice, I hate Peter.  
> Also, I made Cissy youngest because I wanted Nix and Cissy to develop a friendship or some sort of acquaintance. Bellatrix is in middle because she will play a role in bringing the curse to full effect. So i needed here there for a while. Andromeda has already completed her schooling and is/was married to Tonks. It will come up in next few chapters.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	12. Ripples

Small orbs of blueberry colored light filled the great Hall at dinner. There were small twinkle like fairies singing softly. The Great Hall ceiling showed a clear sky with stars twinkling and the dog star shining brightly. The firecrackers have just finished their display from the walls and last firecracker fizzled out. 

And what a firework display it was. There were dragons fighting other dragons in an epic battle (which made Hagrid ridiculously happy), there was 'Dumbledore' figure doing Rumba (actual Dumbledore joined in the end, much to amusement of the students) and then, there was display of stars in different constellations, with one last being Major Canis, ending with a bang of  "Happy birthday Sirius!!" spread in bright colors over the Great Hall ceiling. After that rockets exploded and blueberry colored orbs filled the Great Hall. Twinkle fairies was giggling and smiling all over. 

Sirius sat there with misty eyes. He couldn't believe his friends would do something like this for him. They were definitely going to get a month worth of detention for this. When he mentioned this to them. They all smiled and replied "Some things are worth melting for!". Of course, there won't be any actual melting but he got the meaning. His heart, definitely, melted. 

His mood had tanked in the morning when his mother letter came with usual insults and shame bashing. He was slightly happier when his father explained to him that he could stay at the Potters for the Christmas break, though he had to be there for Yule ball and the usual Black Gala.

Reg send him a huge prank box with a huge set of dung bombs and so many candies. Mr and Mrs Potter sent him a homemade cake, which they had eaten last night, with a sweater knitted by her. It said, 'Because I am worth it!'. That made him tear up.

Watching the Great Hall, Sirius Black was gobsmacked and happier than he ever has been. He didn't know what he did to deserve such sweet caring friends, who created a whole birthday display in the Great Hall. He got up and gave them a huge hug. His smile could power the whole universe. 

Nix whispered,"This is not it, you know!" Sirius looked at her in wonder. She smiled and turned him around. There was a huge 10 tier cake on the Gryffindor table. Lily, Marlene, Peter, Frank, Alice and rest of their friends from other houses gathered around him. 

Sirius was gaping, when James yelled loudly, "Would you cut the cake, mate. You can drool later!!" That got Sirius out of his stupor. He took the knife from smiling Remus. 

As he cut the cake the whole great hall was singing 'happy birthday to you'. He cut the piece and took it to feed his three best friends in the whole world, who smiled deviously. He paused. That can't be good.

It wasn't. Like one all three of them attacked him and plastered him with cake all over his cake and his beautiful hair. Then the rest got in the act and he was a walking cake then. The look of shock and cake all over him, made his friends double over.

Sirius got a devious smile then. He gave a bear hug to the unsuspecting Nice, who was then covered in cake as well. James was laughing so hard that he didn't have a chance to run before Sirius engulfed him in cake smearing bear hug as well. Remus, who was smarter managed to run back a little but then the three of them worked together to capture him. In the end, he had more cake on him then Sirius  did. Honestly, these people!

Sirius, still covered in cake and smiling a million dollar smile, went and distributed cake to the professors who all congratulated him. Professor Dumbledore even hugged him, not minding getting cake smeared at his robes and beard. Twins crackled when Dumbledore moved his hand through his bread and spread the colorful cake cream all over his bread, making it a weird display of colors.  

Then Sirius went to the Slytherin table and gave Cissy a piece of cake. She congratulated him but wrinkled her nose at his state. He winked and she smiled. Meanwhile Bellatrix looked ready to kill. They both ignored her. 

Then music started to blast from somewhere and everyone started to dance. Sirius and his friends started  dancing on table top. Rest of the first years followed. It was the biggest party of the year and it was BEST BIRTHDAY OF HIS LIFE. He thanked his stars for whatever he has done to deserve these gems of people as friends. He just wished he could capture these moments. Unknown to him a flying camera was capturing all the moments.

* * *

Sirus went to his bed with a huge smile plastered on his face. As he laid down, he thought back to his talk with Nix that morning.

_"I know you are upset that I am not telling you what I am seeing, but...." Sirius cut her off by saying with a small smile,"No, no. I get it. My family will probably take the lead to torture you, if they ever found out. It would kill me, if that ever happened. If you were harmed because of me, I would never forgive myself. So I understand your reasoning. But I want you to know that when and if you feel like you want to share something, you are most welcome. I can even be a silent companion, if all you need is to feel someone's presence. But I am not angry, Nix. How could I be?"_

_Nix had tears in her eyes and hugged him tightly. She felt at peace. She hated making him mad. She knew he hated being in dark and he was curious by nature. His need to make sure she was safe couldn't have made it easier for him to let it go. But maybe the nightmare which brought to James bed was the reason. Whatever it was, she was glad. Then she remembered another thing she needed to discuss with him._

_"Thank you, you don't have how much of a burden has been lifted off me. I couldn't sleep thinking you were mad at me. I also needed to talk to you about something."_

_Sirius saw how serious she was. Yes serious, not Sirius. Only he could be Sirius all the time. He nodded for her to continue and held her hand in encouragement._

_"Remus Lupin is a werewolf. The Whooping Willow is where he transforms very month." words tumbled out of her mouth._

_She didn't mean to blurt it out so bluntly but she couldn't shut her mouth before the words tumbled out. She waited with dreaded breath at his reaction. His eyes had widened at starting and then a contemplative look had taken place. She saw the play of emotions on his face. It went for contemplative to shock to horror to concern to acceptance to determination._

_" We need to tell him that we will still be his friends, no matter what. We all have our problems and each of us will help the other carry it. Together!" Sirius said with a final tone._

_Nix got so excited that her hug made Sirius fall flat back on the bed with Nix on top. He hugged her equally hard. "When did you figure it out? We could be wrong, then it would an awful accusation, you know?"_

_"Our parents often let several werewolves in many of estates. They are safe there and can't harm anyone. We have met them. So we knew the signs. We were just hoping to be wrong, you know. But I saw a vision of him converting in front of whooping willow. There were three children there but he didn't attack them. Like he stopped himself. Maybe the wolf can be controlled...." she trailed off._

_"That's why the books you were researching on muggle medicine? You think there could be a cure?" Sirius curiously asked._

_"Not really but there maybe something. Dad and I will discuss about it during Christmas break. I am not telling Remus about trying to find some sort of cure, till I have something concrete. It would just be cruel otherwise." Sirius nodded. How are we going to tell him. He thought out loud._

_"We can start small, so as to not give him a heart attack. We should familiarize our self a bit about werewolves, don't you think? I will lend you some books. You and James can start reading about it.He would panic but it would be easier, if he thinks he knows what is coming, eh?" Sirius nodded._

* * *

Remus Lupin was stressed because he has seen both James and Sirius read books on werewolves with a fever that unsettled him. They saw Nix read  _Hairy snort, human heart_ by a pen named Japanese writer,Tsuki Okami. A book, not to be confused with The _Hairy Heart: A Guide to Wizards,_  that proclaimed that werewolves shouldn’t be treated any differently just because they transform once a month. It was a curse, a disease, and they shouldn't be punished for it. Nix claimed it was fresh change from other writers who were so prejudiced and biased. 

This lead to an on-slaughter of books about werewolves, their cures, their attacks, and anything werewolves, in their dorm. They were having debates on pro and cons of several books. They actually note down discrepancies they found in the books. It was all rather unsettling.

They even wrote a joint essay for Professor Scamandar, who gave them 50 points for their excellent additional work and interest. They were asked to present in front of the class and explain their essay.

They advocated that werewolves shouldn't be treated differently just because they were cursed. Just like Vampires were treated with respect, so why should the werewolves be any different. They were people, except for once a moon. (Yes they made that joke. Idiots, they could never resist a pun!) 

They showed several actual account of werewolves transformation with photos that showed the horrific transformation. They showed an enlarged picture of a 15 year old converting painfully into werewolf. The boy's bones were breaking and he was tearing apart his own skin. They showed another enlarged one, where a 7 year old boy was crying and bleeding from his various self inflicted wounds. "These are the monsters you are talking about so crassly. They are the beasts, this society has decided to sneer and isolate!"

They pointed out how the wizarding society treated werewolves worse than murders (who have committed the crime with full intent, instead of werewolves who had no control.) and were feared at par with dementors. They showed accounts of how humans suffering from lycanthrophy were denied to be even classified as humans;they  had no work or job; or even able to get basic education. They in turn became so poor, that the only means to survive was to the life of crime. 

They asked if the lycanthrophy,  affected humans were worse or the rest of the society, who treated a person suffering from a terrible curse, like they were dementors? How do we claim to be humans, when we treat fellow-suffering humans with such cruelty? 

They left the picture of crying 7 year old child on the wall.

Remus didn't know how he stopped crying during their presentation. He has barely been able to stop himself from hugging them and never letting them go. This was more than he could have ever hoped for. He was blessed, _absolutely blessed,_ to have bumped into Nix that day. He did cry before going to sleep. He has never felt lighter and happier. 

Professor Scamandar was so happy with the work the trio had put in the essay that he made several copies of their essay. He sent one copy to his brother, pasted one copy of essay in every common room, he gave one to each professor. He even asked the trio to give their presentation in every class of DADA. The trio got a letter from Newt Scamandar expressing a deep joy at knowing children who were more humane than most adults he had encountered. He even sent a new edition of his book,  _Fantastic beasts and where to find them,_ which had their essay printed word to word with same pictures they had used to showcase werewolves.

Professor Scamandar also asked for the list of discrepancies that the trio found in the books and asked Madam Prince to get rid of extremely prejudiced books pronto. The teachers seem to extremely proud of the trio. Professor McGonagall even cancelled their rest of detention for Sirius birthday chaos and other smaller pranks.  

Major change can be seen in the perception of students and some teachers too. They have started reading about the werewolves life accounts and started to debate about it. Remus saw people starting to talk about werewolves like humans, not dark creatures. He once passed a Hufflepuff group posting huge banner for humane treatment of werewolves! Ravenclaw had started to discuss the nature of curse, if it can be lifted or if there is something to lessen the pain those  _humans_ go through after transformation. He had seen Nix in 'Sirius' (it was reflex now) discussion with several of these groups.

Gryffindors have taken to, happily, provide those who still bashed werewolves, with flyer and pamphlets that were charmed to hover and irritate the readers till they actually read everything there was in the pamphlet. The pamphlets were filled with horrific accounts of being bitten, transformation before and after; the pain, shame of their curse; the treatment society handed to them. Many of them would be crying half way through the pamphlet; and after finishing would feel so guilty and ashamed of themselves. 

Remus felt like he has come into an alternate universe. He had never been happier and prouder that his friends, the pranksters, were teaching the wizarding world a lesson. Of course, there were some Slytherins who were still absolutely against them. Bellatrix flaked by Rosier, Flint, Lestrange, Bolstrode and several other Slytherins, cornered Nix at the Great Hall. Obviously chosen because James, Sirius and Remus were not there. Nix had come down with Lily and the girls for dinner. 

"I suppose you are, now, the defender of dark creatures? So are you going to defend every beast that kills humans or are werewolves special? Do you like that fact that they can kill and curse other _humans?_ " sneered Bellatrix with hatred filled eyes."Should we be expecting the Potters to join the dark side as well?" There was stunned silence at the incredulous statement. Anyone who had met Nix knew her hatred for anything dark magic.

Students were also apprehensive about one first year against so many Slytherins. Lily looked at the head table and saw that all professors were tensed. Professor McGonagall looked ready to jump in but was stopped by Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling as if waiting for a showdown. Dumbledore's reaction calmed Lily's nerves a bit; see saw Marlene running full speed towards the door, no doubt bringing the trio. 

Nix spoke in clear grave voice that carried through the silent Great Hall," Yes, I am defender of the creatures! Dark or light are all characterized by humans. Isn't it funny that all dark creatures are creatures which humans cannot control or feel scared of? Whereas, the 'light' creatures are easily tamely ones, submissive. As for humans infected with lycanthrophy, yes! I will always defend innocent beings, no matter that _classification_."

"Do you really think that people go out looking to be werewolves? That at full moon, they are suddenly taken over with need to get a  _curse?_ The _people,_ you have easily labelled as beasts, are normal human being with a _disease._ It called lycanthrophy. It terrible and its lifelong." Bellatrix opened her mouth to retort but Nix spoke over her.

"I wonder how you would have felt like if  _you_ were the one suffering from the curse. Can you imagine being locked in a room with wards to prevent you from escaping, knowing what was going to happen but unable to stop it? Imagine being 7, 11 or, even, 29 years old and feel all your bones break simultaneously and elongate to adjust for the beast of your nightmares to come out and possess you. Imagine the anger the werewolves feels at being left in a cage. The need for blood for the werewolf is so strong that he starts to tear and bite your human self.  _Any bite or cut from werewolf will leave a mark._ Then after a night full of pain and anger, imagine your bones breaking again to be their normal size. All the while you are _alone_ , on your own. But now you don't just have to contemplate with pain of your bones but also the several scars that you have given yourself. Now imagine it when you were _7 or 8 or 9 years old. And then imagine doing it again and again, till you die._ " 

"Imagine getting up after the ordeal 'healed' and then seeing the new scars and bites as the obvious sign that a monster resides inside you. Then imagine the terror at having anyone else discover that you are not human for _6-7_ _hours in a month!_  Being punished, shunned and prosecuted for something you are not even aware of doing. Would you still call yourself a beast, if you were suffering from something so terrible with _no cure_? Now, imagine a life of no job, no future, no significant other, no children, no family! A life of absolute isolation, loneliness and suffering!"

"You say that werewolves, when they are human are terrible people, that they are anti-social. You try going through this ordeal every full moon and have _normal_ people treat you as not even human, as a  _dark creature_ ; then tell me if you can come out, being positive, bright and  _nice._ So to answer your question, yes I am defender of innocents because I am not a coward or inhuman. I have a heart which tells me to be human for a change; instead of being the beast we accuse those poor souls of being." finished Nix in a stunned Great Hall. 

Lily had tears in her eyes at the brave, bold, beautiful  _human_ standing besides her. She saw Remus, Sirius and James stand frozen at the door. Remus mouth was trembling and had tears in his eyes. She wasn't surprised, he had always being the more sensitive and caring one. James and Sirius looked with a mixture of proud, concern and a protective gleam she saw in them whenever Nix was concerned. It was sweet that the four cared about each other so much. She heard many of students blow their nose and saw many others wipe their tears off their faces.

Looking at uncharacteristically pale Slytherins, Lily thought maybe Nix has managed to change a few of even these nasty human beings minds. Then Bellatrix recovered and with a voice of revulsion said,"You want us to fall at these creatures feet?"

"Why should you always fall at someone's feet? Maybe try standing besides them for a change." saying this Nix left them to sit at the Gryffindor table. That day something changed and it started a chain reaction that would change world of many.

Nix piled her plate and, happily, dug in. The rest of them looked at her in awe. Then Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone came to their senses and went to their seats.

Lily saw Remus give Nix a strong hug with a look of gratitude and love radiating out of him. Remus was such a considerate and caring human. Sirius gave her hug too and whispered something in her ears, to which Nix simply smirked and Sirius smiled relieved. They both were very adorable together. She wondered if James knew his best friend was falling in love with his baby sister. She hoped it won't cause any rift in their friendship. James was awfully protective of Nix, who as far as she could see, needed no protection. It must be an elder brother thing.

Speaking of James, he had started to eat food from Nix's plate. "Merlin! James, every time! Would it kill you to make your own plate?" 

James smiled mischievously," But sis, the food from your plate tastes so much better!"

Sirius picked a spoon and dug in the Nix's plate as well and said," My dear mate, I couldn't agree more! The food of her plate tastes like angles made them." Nix glowered at them in annoyance and amusement. 

"Nix, you can take this plate." Remus held up a plate with things exactly like Nix's original one.

"I am going to marry you, Remus!"Nix replied happily and took the plate.

Sirius looked at the pair with mock hurt, "Hey, what about me?" with an exaggerated pout and puppy eyes.

"Nope, I am not marrying a food thief. Can you imagine our life? We would literally be fighting about food all the time? So, Remus it is!"Nix replied while still stuffing food in her mouth. Lily fondly smiled. Both Potters ate like this was the last meal that could vanish anytime. Remus winked at Sirius and smiled playfully.  

"Or we can simply have one plate?" Sirius said making his case. 

Nix shrugged and said, "Depends on the size, dear." Sirius and James nodded. After, eating everything off Nix's original plate, they then took a new plate and piled it into a small hill, ate that as well. Everyone smiled at these four's antics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The change would start slow, but I have always believed that the change starts from children.  
> What do you think?  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	13. Christmas

" _Woah!_  
_Never again will she get the best of me!_  
_Never again will she take away my freedom_  
_And we won't forget the day we fought..._ " came the singing, slightly off key, voice of Professor McGonagall who was trying to scold the quarter but the Cantis charm (causes the victim to have unbearable urge to sing) has led her to sing 'Revolting children' from Matilda, a muggle movie.    

Professor McGonagall was glaring down at them while still singing 'Revolting children' and the said 'revolting children' were on the floor laughing. Professor McGonagall was going to rot them in detention for months for this one, they were sure. But this was so worth it. 

At breakfast, somehow, the four had managed to charm all the professors with a  bit of tinkered Cantis charm which would force the teachers to have an uncontrollable urge to sing everything for the whole day. Professor Dumbledore had refused teachers request to cancel classes. He got up to maybe make an announcement, or just given up to his urge, because he started singing 'What a beautiful day' by Richard Rogers,

" _There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow_  
_There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow_  
_The corn is as high as a elephant's eye_  
_And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky_  
  
_Oh, what a beautiful mornin'_  
_Oh, what a beautiful day_  
_I've got a beautiful feelin'_  
_Everything's goin' my way...._ " 

It had been an hilarious day. The teachers were speaking in rhymes or outright singing carols and even vulgar songs. Professor Slughorn, when asked about how his Christmas plan, sang in an quite enthusiastic voice, Drinking song from Broadway Operetta "The Student Prince", 

" _Drink! Drink! Drink!_

_To eyes that are bright as stars when they're shining on me!_

_Drink! Drink! Drink!_

_To lips that are red and sweet as the fruit on the tree!_...." that lead to quite catcalling from the 7th year Newt batch and a blushing Slughorn. 

While the 5th years were regaled to a Opera version of 'Dr Greenthumb' by Cypress Hill from the enthusiastic young Herbology Professor Sprout,

" _Hello, I'm Dr. Greenthumb_  
_Have you ever had the problem of running out of weed_  
_And just can't find some anywhere?_  
_Well try my Dr. Greenthumb grow tips_  
_I'll show you how to grow inside and out_......"  

The day ended in high spirits when all the Professors got up together lead by Dumbledore, while Professor Flitwick acted as a choirmaster (he was standing on the Ravenclaw table facing the head table).

" _Merry Christmas, merry Christmas_  
_Ring the Hogwart bell_  
_Merry Christmas, merry Christmas_  
_Cast a Christmas spell_  
_How wonderous the ways of Christmas_  
_Have a merry Christmas Day_  
_Move around the sparkling fire_  
_Have a merry Christmas Day_......." The students gave the teachers a thunderous applause as the teachers took a bow (Professor Flitwick almost fell off the Ravenclaw table but was saved by the Prefect sitting near him).

Next morning was marked with frantic children running around packing their luggage and heading for Christmas Celebration after which they were to board the Hogwarts train.

The Christmas Celebration consisted of Hogwarts Drama Club enacting a hilariously off-script version of 'The Wizard and hopping pot', mostly by James and Sirius who were wizard and hopping pit, respectively. Then the Orchestra played some fine music, with James and Sirius at Piano and Nix playing the guitar. Then Frog choir sang few Christmas Carols and it was melodiously finished off by Nix singing Christmas Carol 'It came upon the midnight clear'

" _It came upon the midnight clear,_  
_That glorious song of old,_  
_From angels bending near the earth,_  
_To touch their harps of gold:_  
_Peace on the earth, goodwill to men_  
_From heavens all gracious King_!......"  

* * *

Sirius looked around the platform waiting for Mr and Mrs Potter. He didn't know if Reg was already there or coming over later. His mother had refused to let any of his letters reach Reg at house, in case he corrupted him. So, he sent his letters at the Potter Manor where Reg went every Wednesday and Saturday. His mother was not happy about the arrangement, but it was the only condition on which Reg was brought back home by his father. 

He and Reg would have to leave the Potters frequently to attend various galas that pureblood families held and the Yule Ball, in which Reg was being introduced this year. It was going to be hell but at least, he would come back to Potters after all the awful galas. He was searching for Potters with James standing on their suitcases while they were pointedly avoiding Nix's pleading look. 

Nix, who had been busy talking to Marlene, didn't notice when Mrs Longbottom made her way towards her. Mrs Longbottom, who has taken it upon herself to educate Nix on being a proper lady, had refused to let go of Nix.

She started by criticizing her hair - lack of styling and her inability to tame her wild hair (Sirius actually thought her natural hair suited her well). Then proceeded on to her muggle attire which consisted of trousers and a shirt "Honestly, dear, you could have worn a dress like a proper lady or even a robe,  instead of these baggy clothes. They are so not flattering and fitting." 

"Well, I hope not! These are James. If they fit me, then I have surely gone fat as Fat Frair." She stuck her tongue at James, who looked affronted. 

"Phoenix dear, proper lady does not stick their tongues out, its not-lady like. And Merlin be praised, why would you wear James's shirt?", asked a mildly concerned Mrs Longbottom 

Nix shrugged and answered like it was obvious, "They looser and more comfortable than the form fitting clothes Mom has bought for me."

Mrs Longbottom looked astonished,"But, dear, that is the point of dresses. For you to look pretty! How else would you capture a young man's heart?"

"Through my brain",came Nix reply in 'duh' tone. Sirius, personally, agreed. Nix was beautiful but her mind made her astounding. 

Two coughs, which suspiciously sounded like hastily covered laughs, came from behind perturbed Mrs Longbottom. Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom looked equally amused and proud at the conversation. While Frank was holding his sides with a wide grin. He straightened up when Mrs Longbottom eyed him sharply. They all snickered.  

"Ah! Augusta. How are you my dear?" Mr Potter said to Mrs Longbottom while ruffling both the boys hair and bending to hug Nix, who muttered 'can we leave before, this crazy lady kidnaps me?'. Mr Potter huffed out a laugh. 

"I am good, Fleamont. Although, I have to say, again, that you should send Phoenix to live with us for a few days. I will, for sure, turn her into a proper pureblood lady." Mrs Longbottom replied, critically eyeing a horrified Phoenix, as if making a list of improvements to be done. What improvements, Sirius would never know. Nix was brilliant the way she was. 

Mr Potter smiled wide at Nix's expression and said, "Oh dear, we will for sure think about it when time comes to introduce her, but it seems hasty to do so now. Well, we should be heading home. Euph is waiting anxiously for three of them. We will see you at your party."

Fleamont waved his wand and their luggage disappeared along with their owls. Then took out a comb, which was the portkey. Nix stayed as far away as possible from Mrs Longbottom, much to amusement of all the boys.

The party of 4 landed in Potter Manor's living room, where Sirius saw Reg sleeping, sprawled across the sofa, with legs half dangling out and slight drool on his face. This type of action would have been met with punishment back home, but here it wasn't out of normal. Sirius took in Reg, who was wearing casual muggle clothes, he knew his mother hadn't bought for him. So either Reg bought them on their own or more likely, Mrs Potter bought them for him. He looked happier and less stressed than the last time he saw him. He had Nix's Pride and Prejudice on his stomach. Sirius snorted.

Mrs Potter came in with a huge smile at the sight of them all and gave them, a group hug. Her hugs felt like warm cookies or maybe it was that she was smelling like cookies. 

"How was Mrs Longbottom, Nix dear?", Mrs Potter asked Nix with playful smile.

"How Mrs Longbottom is, she asks. Well she went on and on about my unruly, open and non-styled hair. Then she got shocked and appalled when she found that I was wearing James shirt. _Then_ she went on about the fact that I need to dress for a  _guy._ Does she really think I will fall for a guy who likes me just for my looks? What is the matter with her? Also, _why_ do I need to be married, anyways? I am sure I can fend for myself!" Nix ranted. 

Fleamont said evenly with pride shining in his eyes," Well, old way was that women were required for household work and child bearing; but times have changed. Augusta, as is her name, is still a bit old fashioned when it comes to girls. Don't listen to her. You don't need a guy to fend you; but how about him being your companion. It can be awfully lonely otherwise. Sounds nice, no?"

Nix nodded," As long as the guy knows that. Anyways, is that choco chip cookies I smell?" The four of them, including Mr Potter, quirked up and looked eagerly at Mrs Potter, who smiled fondly and lead them to the kitchen. 

They all had an all out war for the cookies while Mrs Potter looked in amusement. She had missed this. The loudness, the shouts, the playful fights, laughter....

She had  _missed_ her kids. Reg coming over had helped. She actually believed it helped them both, Reg and the Potters. He was a sweet kid who was being pressured to be the perfect son. It took him a while but he opened up and explained how Sirius never really cared what anyone thought. So his mother put unimaginable pressure on him to be perfect.

"No one can be perfect, they can only be the best version of themselves. Take the time to discover yourself and maybe you will find that you are better as you are." She was surprised by the hug he gave her. Sirius was an affectionate boy but Reg was a bit more reserved. 

She looked as they continued to fight over the last cookie which Nix got and put it in her mouth with half of it still out. Sirius simply bent over and took a bite out of it, and after him, James did the same. Nix rolled her eyes, as if this was a regular occurrence. Knowing them, it probably was. 

She looked up to see Reg scandalized face. She stifled her smile. Her twins never really knew personal space, Sirius didn't seems to know about them either. Nix saw Reg and her face lit in smile and went to hug him.

"Thank Merlin! You are here! These two drive me up the wall. They actually drove me up a wall once. Anyways, it' great. Were you reading Pride and Prejudice?"Nix kept speaking while furiously chewing her left over cookie as she lead him into living room. Reg looked at her fondly. The rest followed. 

"Yeah, its actually very interesting. I understand why you would name your owl Mr Darcy, he is a fine character. Although I like Elizabeth more. She was ready to accept her prejudice after presented with facts. Not a lot of people can do that. Most of us are so set in our ways that changing it seems to be impossible. But, muggles did seem to be exceptionally biased towards males." Nix nodded at Reg's reply.

"Yes, that is true. The muggles have a lot of prejudices. True, but are we wizards any better? A heir is still a boy. Most of the pureblood girls are trained for  _marriage,_ not with doing something with their life. We have prejudices against any and all creatures that are not wizards, werewolves, house-elves, goblins, etc. We just have different prejudice".

"And, I agree with you that Elizabeth had the rare quality of accepting her faults but I think her quickness at judgement was also a character flaw. But then nobody is perfect." Nix reply bought a reaction out of Black brothers, they looked at her with disbelief.

At her questioning look, Sirius asked,"But aren't we supposed to attain perfection. Isn't that the goal?" 

"How many perfect things have you ever seen.." James said thoughtfully

"..there is always some improvement to be done" Nix added equally thoughtful

"..some change to make it better, to make it perfect" James added

"..perfect is a theoretical concept"Nix continued

"..that's why its called an Utopian concept."

"..it cannot be achieved, there will always be some small thing left"

"..but if you making it your life's goal to achieve only perfection than.."

"..you leave your life behind instead of living it"

"..what should be a goal is to be best version of yourself"

"..everyone has flaws, weaknesses, inabilities, just like they have their strengths and abilities" 

"..but how we use them to present ourselves, truly shows us who we are." James completed their thought. The rest were used to twin-speak but Reg looked a bit bewildered. But he understood their point and smiled at it. 

"Alright then, go freshen up then we have dinner. Come on, move it." Mrs Potter said.

"Yes, MaPo.", Reg replied casually. The trio stopped with curious, and in Sirius's case, incredulous look. Reg blushed and replied," Ummm..Mrs Potter asked me to call her Euphemia but I wanted to call her something else that was a bit more personal after everything she and Mr Potter had done. So I started to call them Potter Mom and Potter Papa. Slowly it got shortened to MaPo and PaPo." he finished looking flustered and a bit embarrassed.

James smiled widely and said," Then you will call me PoJa, uh..no..JaPo! Yeah, JaPo and Nix would be PoPo!"

Reg looked so happy at not pissing off the twins for calling their parents mom and dad. The twins did not seem to mind sharing their parents. They told him in a single sentence that they considered him important too. 

"Alright, JaPo and PoPo, go get freshen up. I will help MaPo here till then." smiling Reg replied. He looked at Sirius, only to see him hug MaPo and whispering her thank you. His cheeks colored further because he knew his brother was thanking MaPo for taking care of him as his mother should have. 

* * *

The days flew by at the Potter Manor. The children played quidditch, baked with MaPo and explored a lot of muggle town. Sirius and Reg discovered the joy of video game and would be seen spending hours on it. While James and Nix would be doing something or the other with the muggle technology. At night they would leave for some 'party' or other, barring Nix.

Today the boys had to go to Lestrange party. Nix, since she wasnt going to  introduced, she won't be attending the gala just like other ones. They were all jealous of her. The Potters never accepted these invitation, but one pleading look from the Black brothers had them agreeing. They would be visiting a lot of these parties this year around. 

Nix knocked on the boys door and entered. She won't have knocked had it only been Sirius and James, but Reg got self conscious. The boys were looking dapper in their formal robes with slick hair (thank you Skleeve's potion).

She smiled and brought out the camera. The boys after giving one normal picture, gave absolutely ridiculous and funny poses for the rest. Then, she asked the Black brothers to pose for a picture together. At mom's yell, they went down and she took photos of the boys on stairs, with her parents, just her parents.

Then Reg took camera from her and pushed her towards the group. Sirius and James gave her group hug from sides with PaPo and MaPo doing the same to the boys. It was such a beautiful picture. He loved the way his brother's eyes were literally sparkling with happiness. They all said goodbye to Nix and went to the party from hell.

* * *

It was few hours later when they all returned. Had they stayed longer, Sirius would have climbed walls to get away from Rosier, who refused to leave his side.

He missed Nix. Speaking of her, he found her sitting alone near back door watching the stars. Ah, she was completing her astronomy homework. It was the only subject in which he has seen her struggle even a little bit.

"That's Big Dipper over there and the second brightest one is Dubhe." pointing to the stars, Sirius smiled and plopped down next to her. She looked at him in wonder. He, for some reason, always felt extremely happy at that look. 

"How do you recognize one dot of light from others? Its impossible!" Nix said with a smile.

He just put an arm around her shoulder, "Well dear, when you are name after one, you just develop an interest, you know." He smiled at her, feeling relaxed for first time since the 'party' (more like stiff superiority complex people stuffed in one gaint room) "You know you are also named after one of the constellations?"

At her wonder expression, he looked at her chart and showed her a constellation at southern portion of chart. "Oh!" was all she said as started reading about her constellation. Sirius couldn't help but think how much prettier and interesting Nix was then all the girls in the balls.

Here, she was sitting in her pajamas with hair as tangled as ever and a ratty old shirt with holes in them, reading about constellation and she was absolutely beautiful. He found out early on that he could talk to her about everything and anything. He liked to see her smile and laugh. Her long talks never annoyed him, it actually soothed him at times.

He felt a sudden urge and placed his head on her lap while laying down. It wasn't the first time he has done it. It felt nice when she ran her finger through his hair. He closed his eyes and hummed. After a while, she asked about the gala.

"It was awful. I mean, bloody dreadful. It was filled with people who looked like a stick has been stuffed in them. I forgot how this was usually what was normal back at home. Judgmental people who are afraid of slightest change."

"Mother was, even, more pain the arse. She made sure I was always in her line of sight the whole time and made me meet so many people. Then, there was _Rosier and Rowle_ \- stop snickering. They just won't leave me alone-stop laughing, you are no better than James-it was so annoying."

"Every time I would ditch them, they would find me within minutes-like they place a tracking charm or something- and mother would give me her stink eyes. The worst was Father!! He just kept snickering-you and him would make a brilliant pair, snickering at my pain. Reg and James were of no help at all. They got bored of the two, so they left me alone with those two- _ugh.._ to have fun with Alice and Frank!"

Nix was full out laughing then. Sirius just looked at her with the moonlights lighting her face, she looked beautiful with her eyes sparkling with mirth and looking like ocean on clear day. Her laughter made all his irritation bleed out of him and an involuntary smile came on his face.

She smiled fondly and continued running her fingers through his hair. He felt at peace, calm and loved. She then told him that she would gone for the day tomorrow. She had been meeting with different people from different fields trying to come up with a way to cure the werewolves curse or at least make it more bearable.

She had met muggle experts on rabbis, vaccinations, medicines, trail runners with her G3. She also met several werewolves that her father and G3 knew to compare it with rabbis. She meet other potioneers who had tried to cure the curse but failed.

She had complied it all and was meeting Domacle, a protege of potion, who has been under her father's mentorship. The three of them along with Boo, a senior of theirs at Uagadou, are trying to see if Nix's research would be of some use. She feels like there is. 

They have decided to tell Remus after Christmas that they know he is one and they don't care. Nix was hoping that with some good news, it would lessen the blow.

Despite the positive success at Hogwarts, changing society view wasn't easy. That being said, ripple could definitely be seen. Hogwarts students sent their parents/siblings/relatives in  _Daily Prophet_ , ministry and other places or simply home, the pamphlets to read and the trio's essay. It lead to a lot of discussion at the galas and balls by adults in more positive light. 

The adults would come up and ask James and Sirius about their views and would debate for hours but would leave impressed. They had seen several pro-werewolves articles in the  _Daily Prophet._ The biggest news was that the ministry was considering removing the werewolves from the dark creature list but including them in the list of humans with severe diseases. These list people got monetary help from the government. Nix felt that would go a long way in improving the life of several werewolves. Although the stigma of being a wolf might prevent several from availing benefit, maybe a confidentiality clause should be good.

They continued sitting there and having small chats till MaPo called them inside to go to bed. 

* * *

Splash. Cold, extremely cold water was splashed on him by his darling brother as a wake up call on Christmas Eve. He saw twins already dressed and ready to go.

"Oi! What was that for?" asked a shivering, irate Reg. 

"Its Christmas morning and you were sleeping like a log. Come on! Its gift time! Lets go, for Merlin's sake!" exclaimed visibly excited Sirius who was bouncing on his feet

"Did you give him candy before breakfast again?" Reg asked Nix, who laughed.

"Yeah, yeah! Enough of yapping. Change! We needed to be downstairs like yesterday!"replied still excited Sirius. Reg just resigned to his fate, dressed quickly.

James and Sirius were running towards living room where there was the Christmas tree while Nix and Reg followed at a more leisure pace.

When they reached the living room, huge pile of gifts were laid out in front of the tree but both Black brothers came to a stop to see their father their wearing a Red Christmas themed sweater. They both smiled hugely at the sight and went to hug him, a year ago this scene would not have happened at all. Dumbledore, or G3 as twins called him, was also there.

Sirius was excited, this was the first time he would spend the Christmas morning with people he loved and cared about. He and other tore through the gifts. He got a quidditch broom repair kit and a new top of the class beater's bat from is father; his brother has given him charmed four way mirror; James had given him prank set with a book on muggle pranks; MaPo and PaPo had given him a set of hand-knitted sweater (which twins and Reg got as well) and a scarf with Gryffindor colors; he got several books and sweets.  

Nix gift touched his heart the most. It was a unending photo album with pics from his birthday, to Halloween party, to Christmas Day celebration along with numerous pranks and everyday life. She had actually given everyone a copy of that. She explained that she had charmed her camera to roam around them in the sky or air. It would take random clicks or when she wanted it to take. She has created a mechanism so that everyone who was in the photo would get a copy of it, automatically, and of others too. It was charmed to know what photos the person would want. This way there would always be memories to share. They all hugged her.

That evening they returned  _home_ and felt the stiffness hit them in the face. Their mother was glaring at the three red Christmas infested sweater-ed males of the Black house. "Well, go change out from these horrendous sweater into something nice. The whole family is coming. You can't look like that! Change now. Honestly that woman has no idea about prestige or proper behavior. To let her daughter dress like a hooligan and to dress like commoners. Preposterous!"

Sirius retorted before he could stop himself,"At least it felt like Christmas there. This feels like a prison!"

His mother's eyes glittered but before it became an all out argument. His father came from behind,"Enough both of you. How many times have I said not to insult them, Walburga? They are nice people who treat our children like their own!"

"But they aren't! They are Blacks! They are making our children turn their back on their heritage. Those people are converting our children into something that goes against our family values.  _Our Heir is a Gryffindor!_ He talks and is friends with mudbloods! He defends werewolves! He is in-cohorts with dark, vile creatures. I know its that  _sweet_ little Phoenix's fault. She has three of you wrapped around her finger..."

"Enough! She is nice because she is a nice person. A decent human being. The Potters did not convert me,  _mother,_ they merely let me be me! I am a Gryffindor through and through! And do not insult muggle borns. magic can't be stolen mother, how thick are you?..."

"Alright, Sirius and Reg go get ready and try to behave. Wala, can you for a second stop being jealous and realize that you are the one isolating our kids from yourself. Reg looks forward to going to the Potters more tha he likes to stay here. Sirius doesn't want to come home. These are changing times and ....."

The rest of the words were faded as they trekked up the stairs. Reg has seen his brother angry. He had the famous Black temper but he hasn't seen this side of him for a while. He was just so happy and excited this morning. Why couldn't mother be nice for one night? Just one. She had to tank Sirius's mood. You can't say anything against Potters, especially Nix, before Sirius would tear you a new one. Mother knew that..why would she do that on a holiday, he would never know.

Father was right, there were days when he survived the next day thinking about the homely, warm and welcoming Potter manor. The warm and loved filled hugs of MaPo and various debates and games with both MaPo and PaPo. He would think about the quidditch pitch, the several muggle novels he still had to read, about the shopping he did with MaPo, and even, about the quirky but happy house elves when he had to sit through his mother's rant about Sirius, Potters, muggle-born, half-beasts, father, Black family. Honestly, did she not have a problem with anyone? 

He got dressed in stuffy formal robes thinking about this and the fact that if they were are Potter now, they would probably be sitting in comfy clothes singing at top of their lungs, Christmas carols and watching MaPo cry over 'Beauty and her beast'. She always cried over it, PaPo often joked that it was because it reminded her of their love. There was no point in thinking about what if, he needed to get through another snide filled evening and then next morning they will be back at Potters. Merlin, the morning cannot come faster.

He walked out just as his brother did. His brother looked unfairly handsome and graceful. Though he is sure all he did was put on clothes and sit and talk on the charmed mirror with Potters. It was unfair that his brother could be effortlessly handsome, regal and intelligent at the same time. It was like all the Black pooled their best features and gave it to Sirius. His brother nodded and turned his mirror towards him and The Potters were crammed in one mirror. They all smiled and yelled,"Merry Christmas, ye mate!" A smile broke out on his face.

"The brat and young master are talking to the mudblood loving, detestable, atrocious, abhorrent Potters, oh no Mistress would be so sad." came Kreacher's screech.

"Kreacher" his brother voice rang with the clear authority of an heir, "I forbid you to ever say the word mudblood or to ever insult the Potters in front of me. IS that understood?" Kreacher, suddenly, timid nodded. "Tell our mother we will be down shortly." Kreacher left with a  _bow_ to him. Reg looked at his brother in wonder.

"Oh Your Highness!" came a jovial voice from the mirror. "We shall leave you to your empire!", James said with mock bow. Sirius snorted and said teasingly, "Well, then you are dismissed, my brave warrior!"

James faked a sniff,"Mother, did you hear that, King Black, just called be brave!" MaPo's amused voice came through the mirror, "Yes dear, mother is proud. And of course, you are brave.." "unless there is a spider involved.",finished PaPo. The mirror was cut off after James's indignant defense 'Hey! They creepy....'

The Black Brothers snorted and went down together for a Christmas _celebration_ with  _family._ Well you can't have it all..     

    

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be about the Black family dinner and I am contemplating writing about the lot meeting lily. where and how, is still up for debate. Maybe her house or maybe in a muggle mall? not decided yet. Anything you guys want to incorporate in the story?  
> The songs and their lyrics all belong to the rightful owner and i have no credit over them. Cheers.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	14. Heir of the Black family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the Christmas dinner

The future of the Black House was being discussed at the very moment and his heir looked bored and absolutely uninterested. That won't do. He agreed with Fleamont that Sirius was still just a boy. Yet he was the boy who had to lead the family after he was gone. He needed to speak up.

Seeing his frown at Sirius, Bellatrix had apparently decided to get the heir in the discussion. "So defender of innocents! What do you have to say to Dark Lord's vision? Isn't it what you want, rights for all magical creatures?"

Sirius looked at her with a disinterested eyes and blank look," Is that what your Lord wants? Equal rights for everyone? Including muggle born?"

Bellatrix with a dreamy look, said,"He says anyone with talent should be protected. He doesn't agree to inbreeding of magical and muggles. We all know, half bloods and muggle borns are not talented."

"Really, so what exactly is Albus Dumbledore? Professor McGonagall?",drawled Sirius

"They are anomalies." Lord Black could see Bellatrix temper rising at being questioned about long held beliefs among the 28 sacred pureblood families.

"Hmm...so 3/4 of the Hogwarts is an anomaly?" Sirius asked with a look that said 'how stupid can you be.' 

" Yes and Lord Voldemort will set the wizarding world straight." Sirius nodded and Bellatrix grinned in victory. He was glad  _she_ wasn't the heir, idiotic woman. Didn't she know Sirius never gave in quickly for anything. 

"Bella, please humor me. Introduce yourself?"

Bellatrix looked incredulously at him but answered, "Bellatrix Durella Black, House of Black"

Sirius turned to Rudolph, who answered, " Rudolph Kringle Lestrange, House of Lestrange"

Sirius, then, turned to Malfoy," Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, House of Malfoy"

Sirius then turned to Ted Tonks, who had been asked here by Andromeda (she hasn't informed them about him, just said she was bringing someone special. Least to say that reaction had been unpleasant. Apart from Sirius and Reg, the rest stayed clear.)

"Ted Tonks" he said simply to which Sirius smiled. 

"What is the meaning of all this?" Asked a visibly irate Bellatrix.

"Meaning of all this, my dumb cousin, is why is he  _Lord Voldemort?_ No one names their child _Lord_ and I have never heard of the surname Voldemort in all the blood status books mother made me cram up. So the real question is, _who is he_?"

"He is the Heir of Slytherin! You insolent brat" Bella yelled

"Where is the proof?" Still unusually calm Sirius

"He says, he is!" Bellatrix defended.

Sirius snorted. "Alright then. I am the heir of Hogwarts. What? I say, I am! Isn't it how it goes now? We believe what anyone says?"

"He is a parselmouth. He is the heir, you taint of house..."

"Yeah yeah! So? Phoenix is a pareslmouth. Oh! Didn't know that, did ya? So I suppose we have a contention for the title!"

"He is a _Slytherin_. She is a  _Gryffindor!"_

Victory danced in Sirius's eyes,"So what _is_ his real name?"

Bellatrix sat stunned at being outwitted by _Sirius_. The rest of the family stared at Sirius in stunned silence. They expected him to be angry, not logical and actually make sense.

It didn't look like Bellatrix was going to say anything. Taking matters into his hand because Sirius was right, who was this Lord Voldemort that they were supposed to bend down to.

"Who is he, Bellatrix?" he commanded her in his best Lord voice.

"I don't know!" Bellatrix looked on ready to curse someone to oblivion, most probably Sirius.

Sirius asked in absolute disdain," So you know he was a Slytherin. That he calls himself Heir of Slytherin. You know he is a parselmouth, which he no doubt did to impress upon you his importance. But you don't know him? You don't know his blood status? House name? His _name_? But you want  _us,_ The House of most honorable and sacred Black, to follow a nobody, a  _no one,_ into a war which we will eventually loose? Have you lost your mind? _Blacks don't bend to anybody!_ Or have you forgotten it, dear cousin?"

"This guy will loose all his credibility the moment another parselmouth turns up. Is that what this house has come to, bending on people who can speak to a species other than ours? Well, then Phoenix can speak 6 languages, 3 of them ancient, including Mere-language. She isn't a parselmouth, at least I haven't seen her speak to them yet, but she probably can. Do you see how weak his claim at the Heir to Slytherin, is? You want us to follow an unknown person, with no power, money or claim, into a war which we will definitely lose? Have you lost all your senses?" 

"Lose? You clearly haven't seen him in action? He is incredibly gifted and powerful. We can't lose!", replied Bellatrix, with awe in her voice.

"How many pureblood families are left in the country? 20-40, maybe at max 60? How many half-bloods and muggle-borns families are there? 1000-2000? Eventually their number will out weigh us. We may rule for a few years but in the end numbers will win. And how many of us will be left then, huh? 10-20 families? What will be our status then, terrorists? Out-casts?" Sirius was still calm and logical. Orion thought with pride, he was speaking as the next  _Lord Black._

"What will you have us do then? What is your solution? Be at mercy of intruders? Let ourselves be governed by  _them_?" came Bellatrix's question. She ,unlike Sirius, was looking ruffled.

"You want to remain at top then behave as their elder brother. Have them educated in the wizarding world and customs in the school earlier. Introduce bills to protect certain wizarding ways. Act like their saviors and we will virtually be crowned. We all, already, have enough money power to not worry about that. All we need to do is improve our standings in the wizarding populations eyes. Why bother ruling by force, when you can rule without it? Why not expand our businesses to keep ministry and everyone else under us, then rule from behind without the burden of doing everything? Where is the cunning and smart in ruling with force, when you can be the puppet master?"   

"You are a Gryffindor? You have forfeited the right for ...." came the weak defense from Bellatrix, who looked blindsided at this side of her cousin. 

Again, Sirius railroaded her, "Yes I am, so? I am a Gryffindor. I have made friends with houses who have avoided us like plague in past. I am among the top 5 students of my year. My essay defending the rights of werewolves has been published by  _Newt Scamandar_ in his book; it has been published by  _Daily Prophet;_ Minister official and Minister of Magic, himself, have spoken and congratulated me. We are seen in new light. We have more doors open now then we had by being aloof and superior to everyone else. Everyone knows my house, my blood prestige and the position in the magical world; but they don't avoid us like plague now. Father's business has increased since he became friends with Potters.  What have you done except isolate everyone from us and make an absolute fool?"

"The Dark lord...."started Bella but was cut off by Sirius

"Who  _is_ he? On what accounts, is he a _Lord_? Why should the most honorable and sacred house follow some nobody with a little magical skill? Is this the legacy we will leave behind? Of a family to fall behind anyone who shows even a bit of power? Like Grindelwald? We are still suffering by following him blindly! You want to follow another wannabe dark lord? At least, Grindelwald had the guts to be himself while propagating his agenda? He wasn't a coward. You want me to place the whole house's future and past prestige on some guy who refuses to even say his real name? Why not use his real name, it can't be that weird? For all we know, he could be a half blood himself or even a muggle born. Are you telling me that purebloods should follow a muggle born or a half-blood? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose, to begin with?"

"But....", Everyone could see Bellatrix floundering for an answer.

"He has a Gringotts vault,doesn't he? Then we can verify his name, house and claim.", came Reg's timid voice. At Bella's head shake, Sirius sighed like he was talking to a group of idiots. Which, if Orion was being to honest to himself, felt like they were. _Why haven't they asked these questions? Where they really that blind? Sirius's suggestion was actually not bad. Money was the power and with their blood status, they were royalty as it is. All they needed to do was improve their image in society. Hmmmm_....

"Don't you see, he needs us because he needs a place to stay and money to fund his own campaign against, well I am assuming, everyone? Don't say he is for pureblood wizards. How many pureblood wizards has he killed till now 20..30? That is more dead than there were in a past 30 years! He just likes to kill, no matter who. He has killed muggles for no reason. They don't know that a war is being waged against them. The wizards don't really give a damn about the muggles. So what is the point of killing them, apart from just to kill and feel powerful. He just found a cause to lure fools to his side to increase his own self worth by making himself our  _Lord._  He wants power and he found a way to get it through other blind fools. Imagine if tomorrow, it turns comes out that this Lord was actually a half-blood or muggleborn. Who will you all show your faces to?" Sirius finished in calm logical voice. 

Sirius then, again, began to look bored and uninterested while the rest sat in stunned silence. The Slytherins were watching their Cousin as if seeing him for the first time. Reg was looking at him like he couldn't believe this was his brother. Lord Black was proud of his choice of heir. He stood up and spoke with command that woke the ancient magic, 

"Heir of the Black house has spoken logically and has raised serious concerns over this Lord's credibility. Till we know for sure who and from where this Lord is, I refuse to follow some half-blood or muggle born. _Blacks don't bend in front of anyone!_ I refuse to associate Black House's name with them. We will _not_ repeat my father's mistake. We lost 1/3 th of our wealth in attempt to salvage that situation. Bellatrix, if you wish, you can join him but  _only after marriage_. Not while you still carry the name Black. Any and everyone whose name is Black is forbidden from this day on wards till the Lord Black says so otherwise, to associate or help in any form, Lord Voldemort and his campaign. Anyone disagreeing will loose their inheritance, their magic and the right to name Black. So mote it be!" Ancient magic swirled around them and enveloped everyone with Black surname with this bind.

Sirius smiled inwardly. He was glad he listened to Nix and kept his cool. He just turned the tables. Let the game begin.   

* * *

Cissy saw Ted Tonks, Andromeda's  _boyfriend_ , look at Sirius in awe and admiration. She, also, noticed Lucius look at Ted's expression with a thoughtful look. Sirius was a picture of perfect elegance with his legs falling off armrest of the sofa, he occupied, while resting his head on the shoulder rest. 

"Should Andromeda be worried about your love for her, Ted?" came the teasing voice of her cousin and Heir, Sirius. 

Ted snorted."Na! She knows of my undying love for her!" Sirius smiled. "What you did, was very Gryffindor of you."

Sirius shrugged and said,"I simply asked few questions that anyone with half a brain would ask." 

"Who are you to question, the Dark Lord? You should fall at his feet, you absolute useless piece of ..."

Sirius snorted,"You really like being down on your knees and worshiping, don't you?" Muffled and chocked laugh followed, leaving Sirius and Reg confused. They internally shrugged. Their relatives were a weird lot.

"You absolute idiot, you wait till I get married. The first person I would kill would be your precious, Phoenix." Bella screeched angrily.

Cissy waited for her cousin's upcoming anger. She had seen him rip people apart for less. But Sirius and Reg ( that was new) both just snorted and looked highly entertained. 

"You think I won't do that. That I won't spend days torturing the life out of that miserable girl?", Bellatrix asked in deadly calm voice.

"Oh I am sure you would try, but I am afraid, you would make everyone oppose that Lord of yours even more. Everyone loves her, darling cousin. By everyone, I mean ministry, students and Professors at Hogwarts, people she met while travelling with her mother. Not to mention, she is the great granddaughter of Dumbledore. Can you imagine the support they would rally to oust and kill you all?" Sirius said in the same unusual calmness he has spotted throughout the night. It was freaking Cissy out.

She was used to the brash, impulsive brother of hers. This new one, she didn't know how to handle. Looks like Bella was having the same issue. She has been unable to get a rise out of him once.

Then she saw the glimmer of amusement in Sirius's eyes. She realized that he has been having his fun, just that it was more subtle, more Slytherin.  She stifled a laugh. So her brother had this side as well. It was good for the Black family future. Merry Christmas, indeed!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: New year and back to Hogwarts..I think. I was going to finish new year here only but it got out of hand.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	15. Musing

The peace, the calm and the safety that resonated through him when he reached the Potter Manor was astounding. He smiled at the enthusiastic house elves who were giving him hot chocolate (Potters always had hot chocolate on hand. It was brilliant!) while taking their coats. This house was always chaotic, loud, filled with laughter, light and absolutely improper. He loved it!

Last night, he had decided to outright ignore everyone. He had gotten bored within minutes of Bella prattle on and on about how wonderful Lord Voldemort was ( _ugh!_ ) and how he was going to call change the world ( _yeah, right!_ ). All he could think about was 'how stupid are these snakes? Don't they, ever, use their brain?'.  Then Bellatrix had, stupidly, decided to involve him in conversation. Well, if she wanted his opinion, who was he to deny his lovely cousin.

At first he decided that he was going to show the cunning Slytherins _,_ how _cunning_ they really were. As his 'debate' with Bella increased, he sensed a purpose. He could see the elders of House of Black, Lestrange, Rosier(because, really when was life ever fair?), and Malfoy, listen to what he had to say. They looked mildly surprised by the questions he had raised, as if they were thinking about it for the first. How did these idiots controlled major part of wizarding wealth with no brain? It had to be the ancestors. Because this generation was stupid.

But, he also realized something else. The more he refused to rise to Bella's baits and instead chose to give rational, logical answers; more hilarious were Bella's response and expressions. Of course, her threat to Nix had boiled his blood but he wanted to use the new weapon in his arsenal, _calmness_. It was surreal how effective it was. It had been absolute hilarious to see Bella try to gain an even footing with him and to see her fall flat every time.

The night had turned out be a beauty and filled with revelations. 

His dad's pride at him aside, his dad's declaration of reserving any further support from anyone Black for that Lordly character was huge. He was sure several houses will know restrain from showing support or would, at least, be a lot more hesitant.

He was sure that hell or heaven, Bella and Lestranges were going to join that wannabe dark lord ( _such a penchant for stupid arse names, this guy. Except for his real name.)_ ; as would Bulstrode, Carrow, and other low prestige purebloods. He may have converted his own house, Malfoys and Rosiers'. He may have changed a few fates. The rest was up to them.

You would think that the dinner being a Christmas celebration, they would be chilled out but no, _not his family_. An all out war about light and dark forces; an ancient magic binding incident; threats to your and your friends' life, was all the celebration the Black family did.

But now the stuffiness, the politics, the properness was left behind in the Manor along with his disapproving ranting mother. He expertly ignored her angry rant about something. He wasn't even sure about what.

In the end, he simply looked at his mother critically and drawled," Dear mother, is screeching at such inhuman pitch, proper pureblood behavior?"

His mother's mouth actually stopped ranting with a snap and wide eyes. Like she couldn't believe that her shame of flesh could taunt  _her_ about being  _proper. Sirius_ was telling the Lady of the proper pureblood family to behave properly. What in the world..!

Man! Why hasn't he been told that being calm at raving lunatics was so much fun and effective. 11 years of his life would have been way more interesting.  

He saw his father look at him with amazement and mirth in his eyes. He nodded approvingly and told to get a move on or the brothers will miss the portkey to Potter Manor. The brothers hurried.

* * *

 

The loud, boisterous, and happening Potter house was actually quite calm for a morning. Sirius and Reg turned to see MaPo carrying laundry in her hand, softly humming a Christmas Carol. 

When she saw them her face spilt into a happy smile. Reg took her laundry basket from her and placed it near the house elf it needed to go to, who smiled gratefully. He turned to see his brother hugging MaPo tightly. 

When they broke apart, Reg saw happiness brimming in Sirius's eyes when MaPo lovingly ran her finger through his hair. She has taken to do that to the Black brothers, saying "You both have such nice, soft hair."  Not like nest hairs here." 

At this the Nix patted a mock-sorrowful looking James and PaPo, then yelling "Ouch, is it your hair or spiky bushes. Not at all nice or soft!" PaPo and James looked at each other and sighed as if it was pulled from deep inside. MaPo, Sirius and Reg laughed. The twins and PaPo shrugged at that with a smile. The three were uncannily similar.

"How was your Christmas? Had fun? Are you guys tired? Hungry? Thirsty?" Came rapid fire questions from her, in concern for their _well-being_. This was in such a contrast to morning subjected to his raving mother, who had been beautiful shut up by Sirius.

MaPo was such a loving person. She has made it a point to make the Black brothers feel at home, safe and happy. The brothers didn't think that she has ever 'siriusly' yelled at the twins, unlike their mother who has been using hexes and curses on them to make them proper pureblood breeded males since they could remember. The curses and hexes have reduced significantly since dad had shown interest in their upbringing. But it was always there. 

His brother has shown a different side of himself yesterday, leaving everyone gobsmacked. Reg knew his brother thought these things. They all had debates here in the Potter Manor about these things several times. 

Reg actually found it confounding that he could express his actual opinion, not the one parroted by the family in these discussions. They were encouraged to have different opinions, not be punished for it. Even if his opinion was contradicting to what the majority said, it was still listened to and encouraged to discuss. This was a beautiful family and he couldn't be happier to know and live with them for even a short while.

Reg laughed and said, "We are just happy to be back." And hugged her. She had tears in her eyes. 

"Well we are happy too. The house way too quite." She chuckled "Never thought I would say such a sentence with those two devils. Anyways, James and Fleamont are off to for some work, and Nix is still asleep."

Reg saw his brother give MaPo a concerned  look at which her MaPo's eyes softened even further.

"She is fine dear. Just had a talk with grandpa."

If the purpose of the sentence was to placate his brother, it had failed magnificently. He looked even more worried. 

"Is it okay, if I see her?", Sirius  _asked_ MaPo, as if afraid she would say no. That was stupid. The Potters were all very fine with Sirius and twins close relationship. The number of times he had seen the three sitting on each other, eating from the other's plate, sleeping in the same bed was uncountable. And it had been only been ten days! He wondered if Remus was same. But thought, he probably wasn't.  _He_ knew what personal space was. Unlike these three. They didn't even know the word personal when it came to each other.

MaPo, like he knew (his brother must have been hexed when he wasn't looking), smiled and nodded. She, then, looked at me and said,"Reg would you like to accompany me to the muggle market? I have few things to buy." Reg nodded eagerly and went with MaPo. Sirius had already left.

* * *

Sirius was anxious. Talking to G3 might not seem like something out of the blue, the family was very close to Dumbledore. He was here on several mornings. Apparently, he would, often, drop by for a cup of tea or breakfast. 

Sirius never thought that age was just a number till he saw G3 open his presents. He was so excited when he got the twins' gift, a pair of bright blue roller blades. He had promptly put it on and had refused to take them off, as twins' Aunt Minnie complained.

It had been like a wacky dream where Professor McGonagall was sitting there, in her comfy muggle clothes with hair down, looking absolutely relaxed and at home. She was funny and had sass. She was  _purr-fect,_ like the twins put it. He knew that G3 was spending the Christmas night with them, like every year.

It was the concern, worry and frustration that filled MaPo's eyes that told him that Nix had another 'vision' and it hadn't been pretty. The urge to make sure she was fine was very strong but if she needed her sleep more, he would wait. For her, he would wait as long as she needed. He rushed towards her room and opened it slowly.

She was sleeping almost buried in blankets. He saw her tangled hair pulled up in a bun on top of her head. She looked so peaceful and sweet and ..... Never mind, she looked nice. He had a sudden urge to hug her. He went to do just that when she opened her eyes.

"Bunk with me.", She asked in a timid voice. There was no hesitation. He simply removed his warm clothes and bunked in with her. His hand went under her neck, the other held her thin waist (despite her eating almost equal to what they ate, she was still thin and small) while his placed his head on top of her head. 

He sighed when he smelled in her familiar scent. She always smelled like summer morning. It was nice. She also had such pretty eyes. Her sass made his day. Her brain was astounding and ...He was an idiot who found everything about her nice. Before he knew it, he was asleep with her securely in his arms, feeling safe for first time since yesterday morning.

* * *

 _She saw Sirius and Remus sitting together drinking tea and reading Daily Prophet in a comfortable silence. There were six other people. One had amazing bubble pink hair. It suited her. Nix_ _saw Remus steals looks at her._

 _Sirius was looking at Remus with amusement dancing in his eyes and a smirk, which was being avoided by Remus studiously. The bubble-pink girl seems to know about whatever was going on; and would grin along with Sirius. Remus_ _continued to ignore the smirking pair._

_She was in Sirius's parents living room. But the condition of the house looked grim as if no one has lived her for years. That was weird. Suddenly a white light, solid looking doe landed on the floor of Sirius's house. Except this doe spoke in a curt and almost rude manner. "Potter and his friends are missing from school. They think Black is captured in Department of Mystery. Black stay back. The rest, hurry!"  the light dissolved._

_There was flurry of movement when every one was gathering their cloaks and wands. They were sending out white light wisps out of their wand. They all almost wore same expression with different degrees-concern, fear and worry._

_Sirius, despite what the doe said, got up and got ready to go. Remus looked at him, but then shook his head and nodded. But then Sirius stopped as if something just occurred to him, "Kreacher!" An ugly and almost repulsive house elf appeared in front of Sirius. "Did Harry floo call here?"_

_Kreacher smiled gleefully, it was a terrible sight, and said "Yes, the half-blood called to ask where his master, the ungrateful brat, was. Kreacher told him he wasn't here!"_

_Sirius looked ready to murder. "You better be sure he is fine or I will kill you very slowly."_

_He left leaving Kreacher with instruction to tell Dumbledore everything. The next thing she saw was Kreacher lying on the floor crying about how Master Regulus had died himself so that Kreacher could escape the cave. He hadn't been able to open a red colored heart shaped locket by any means._  

Why would you need to open it? Why did he die to get this locket out of a cave? Cave? It made no sense at all. Why didn't Reg just take Sirius with him? 

_She did see the Reg's death played out more slowly this time; or maybe it was just so horrific that felt longer. Reg looked 17 or 18, was being dragged and eaten alive by zombie-like creatures. That was not a sight she could ever forget._

She couldn't breath and vowed to protect that sweet little brother of Sirius. Sirius would be crushed if anything happened to his little brother. He had told her one night while they were star gazing, how he would act out so that his mother's anger would be focused on him rather than his brother. If he knew this, how his brother dies.....no, he won't die. Even if she has to die to protect them all, she didn't give a damn. She will protect them. No one, she means  _no one_ would suffer such terrible fates she had seen, if she had anything to do about it. And she bloody well will...

Her musing were cut short by Sirius who had shifted and now his cheek was pressed against her cheek. His lips were almost kissing her cheek. She felt herself blush. She knew there was a bond between them that brought very different,  _strong_  reactions from her when he was concerned. Like the need to be near him, keep him happy, protect him from his awful family. Nix knew that whatever she felt was magnified by some ancient magic. She thinks she knows what it is. But, she knew it needed time to bloom completely. Most probably by the time they turned 13. She didn't think it was related to the amulet, just something else. She hoped that it was what she thought it was. It would be the best. 

Although, she worried if he would suffer because of it. Her path was going to be dangerous one and, most likely, end with her being dead. She didn't want him to suffer through a heart break or loneliness. She knew him. He was loyal to a fault and loved with fierceness that should have been scary but was not. She knew that whoever he fell in love with, he won't even think about anyone else.

She hoped and dreaded that it was her. Hoped because she knew that she was well on her way of being in love with him; and she didn't know how she would deal if he fell in love with someone else. She knew she was young but wizarding bonds always developed either very early or very late.

And dreaded it, because if he did, he would be in danger. She won't be able to live with herself, if she was the reason something happened to him. So maybe it would be good for him to be with someone else. Her heart ached for no reason at all. 

She could feel his heartbeat, which was very reassuring to her, his strong arms around her, as if protecting her. even, subconsciously. He was so sweet and nice. His eyes would become molten when he saw her. He did crazy things to make her laugh. He would be a solid presence, whenever she needed a moment to reconnect with reality. He was always her silent companion. He, somehow, just knew what to do, to make her feel better. Every time. It was nice to have such a nice friend. He..... 

He opened his eyes with an earth shattering yawn, making her giggle. He, popped himself on one arm, smiled and looked at her in question. She shrugged and smiled. He nodded. 

"So what's going on in that crazy brain of yours?", Sirius asked with rough voice with a small smile. 

"Nothing, just _things_. Oh, Boo, Damocas and dad were able to develop a potion that would heal wounds faster and another one which would reduce pain in joints and bones. They have decided to market that as well. Dad said he would go sometime today. That pain reliever should be of huge help for Remus. And the New Year party has been decided to be a relaxed family affair thing. It is sad you won't be here. It would have been more fun, if you were..." The rest of whatever she was going to say was trailed off as Sirius hugged her like she was his favorite teddy bear. She blushed again. She cleared her throat but hugged him back. Still hugging her, Sirius spoke,

"I missed you. Merlin! Yesterday was awful, New Year is going to be worse. Bella and I got into a 'debate' about Lord Voldemort. She kept trying to bait me but I kept destroying her points calmly and logically. It was brilliant. Her reactions made it more hilarious. More than that, Father invoked ancient magic and has forbidden anyone with Black name from helping and abetting the Lordly bloke." Nix started to run her fingers through his hair (it really was very soft). Sirius pulled back a bit to look at her, while his hand traveled back and forth her spine. 

"Bella was so furious, it was hilarious. But she is going to be such a pain in the ass in coming years. She would turn 17 soon enough and I won't be surprised if she got married as soon as she did. I suspect she is love with that Voldemort. Andromeda brought Ted Tonks, her _muggle-born serious boyfriend_ , home. My family's faces almost seized at that and then, they made it a point to steer clear of him. He seemed like a solid bloke, didn't let it put him down. He took everything in his stride. Its a good thing Andromeda is living alone now. Otherwise, she would have been cursed so bad...."

He told her every detail about the last night and what he thought the consequences would be. They talked about things till James came and landed on top of Sirius, while Reg took seat quietly beside Nix.  

* * *

The Black brothers took their leave for their house, it wasn't home. It hadn't been for ages. Sirius would come directly from his house to the train station. He had to stay there for 4 days. His dad wanted him to start learning a bit about Family Magic. Sirius was not happy but at least it wasn't the full vacation.

The New years was spent with the usual family traditions.  At Potter Manor, the Potters, G3, Aunt Minnie, Longbottoms, Greenways and Shaklebolts were all having a merry time with usual games, fun and laughter in their PJs.

While at Black Manor everyone was dressed to the T and had a proper estate dinner _(why have casual dinner when you can make everyone suffer with mind-numbing protocols!)_. There were no laughs, no games and definitely, no fun. It was the usual talks-of politics, muggle borns, dissing of other pureblood families, dissing of each other.

One thing that had been shocking was the revelation that Andromeda had decided to marry Ted Tonks. His mother was furious and wanted to blast her off the family tree. Father stated that they should wait till she actually goes through with it.

Next three days for Sirius were spent learning the basics of family magic. His father gave him books to read till summer vacations about old magic, magic and souls. The last one was weird; but he shrugged and nodded.

The time could not come fast enough for him to leave his house and go to Hogwarts. Reg was very sad that he was leaving; but, for once he was glad he was the older one. At least, he was out of the dreadful house.

His mother has been unbearable. She, for whatever reason, found that the reason why Andromeda fell in love with a  muggle born was because of the Potters. That had been baffling to say the least. Maybe his mother's barely held sanity has finally been snapped. 

They reached the station where he was dressed in black clothes, top to bottom. Nix frequently said that we all took our surname quite 'Siriusly'. He searched and found the Potter family laughing alongside the Longbottoms, Greenways, Shakelbolts, Lupins, McKinnon and, who he assumed were, Evans. They were all wearing bright colored muggle clothes and had same packed lunch. It looked like they all went out for breakfast together before getting here. 

Sirius felt sad that he had missed out. It looked like it would have been fun. His father steered us towards the happy families with Mother walking begrudgingly. MaPo's eyes lit up when she saw the two Black boys. Sirius went and gave her a huge hug which she gladly returned, then Reg was hugging her. Sirius, in the meantime, was hugging PaPo and then Reg did the same. His mother did not look happy as she greeted the friends. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up is Lady black pov.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	16. Proper pureblood ladies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pov of Lady Black and Cissy.

_My son_  was hugging that mudblood-lover like  _she_  was his mother. They were meeting each like they were separated in war or something. Ridiculous!

All,  _she_  got when her son came to home was a minimum 5 feet distance at all times. She didn't think he even knew what her rants were about, anymore. She once screamed at him about the Weird sisters .She was ranting about not knowing any of their bloody songs. Orion looked at her like she has lost her mind. She probably had,but dammit! She wanted to be acknowledged by her son that she actually exists. To get him to respond in any way other than his indifferent look. But to no avail. He just continued to look bored and in his own world.

He has always been an affectionate person. She loved to get his hugs when he was young. As he starting getting closer to the Hogwarts age, she wanted him to fit in the Slytherin, where open affection was really frowned upon.

But, as always, her temper got better of her and she ended up hexing him. The first time she hexed him for laughing real loud, the hurt in his eyes at being reprimanded for laughing is something she still remembers. She believes that was when the break in their relationship and trust happened.

She doesn't think he has hugged her since then. Seeing the way everything was going, future looked bleak as well. She knew her son thought she didn't care about him. She did. She really did. But she wanted him to be what  _she_  wanted him to be. Not his own person. Not a  _Gryffindor._ Not someone who rebuffed family's century old tradition and thoughts. She wanted him to be the best Black heir and best Slytherin. Only if he would  _listen!_

She couldn't stop her anger from taking over. Sometimes just seeing his impassive face would piss her off. He showed emotions to everyone,  _everyone_ , but when it came to his own mother, there were no emotion. Their relationship has deteriorated to such an extend that sometimes, her son looked at her like she was stranger.

She knew he would act out when she was mad so that she won't take it out on Reg. She had hoped that to keep Reg safe, he would join the Slytherins but no, he became a effing  _Gryffindor_. She always knew he wasn't a Slytherin, but she had hoped, maybe, for Ravenclaw.

Her husband's recent involvement with the children had made the kids a bit more involved in the family but they were both still aloof with most of the beliefs her father and their forefathers held. 

She already knew that throwing that Rosier girl at Sirius was not going to bear any fruit. To be honest, any girl, except for Phoenix, he would have to talk to, he would only get irritated and/or annoyed.

She could see it when Sirius was forced to talk to other girls, how he constantly compared them to her; how frequently she was in the little talks they have heard out of him. She had noticed that even her name, sometimes, was enough to bring a smile out of him. That  _girl_  had all her boy's attention without doing anything. 

The prime example was right in front of her today. The whole time they were there, her son would touch  _that girl_  somehow-hand on the waist, back; arm around her shoulder; standing behind her/besides her. Like he couldn't bear another second apart from  _her_. The girl and others acted like this was normal and even had sly smiles, including her husband.  _Idiot_.

She couldn't understand why. She was positive that this  _girl_  was going to be her daughter in-law and she has already stolen her son. She was favorite of Reg and her husband, Orion. Her husband was, especially, fond of her. He treated her like what she imagined he would treat the daughter, he, oh!, so desired.

She still remembered the look Orion had when she told them about encountering the mudblood lover Potters' at Diagon Alley. After visiting the Potters, Orion had decided, she could tell, that Potter's were going to be the next relatives of the Black house. That girl was going to bear the heirs of the Black house. Oh, she could curse someone.

Reg, her sweet-sweet son, who used to worship the ground she walked on, has separated himself from her too. After their first sleepover, Reg had asked a lot of questions: about why we do things the way we did; why we hated muggles; why did we need to remove the muggle-borns from the society; why can't we live peacefully; there has to be a reason to want to end the muggles; and why were they friends with only few people. Potters had friends everywhere; they were so nice, so loving; they were open to muggle but they were still powerful, wealthy and upstanding citizens of the wizarding world. Why couldn't we be more like them? She had actually cursed him. Sirius was used to curses by now. This was the first time, she had cursed Reg.

Unfortunately for her, Sirius walked in right then. He was furious. Oh, she had seen him furious. He got her temper, after all. But that was just pure hatred that shone in his eyes for her. He went straight to Orion and asked him to remove Reg from her custody, if he still wanted his sons to be in his life. They would leave and never look back. Knowing him, she knew he would follow through. He did what he wanted and never once in his life listened to anyone else.

That day Orion realized that she had being using curses and hexed on our sons as form of punishment for years now. He was furious. Potters had agreed to keep Reg for a while with them. Only when she begged for my son's return, did Orion go to get him. Only to return alone. Reg had postulated that he would only come back if he was allowed to go to visit Potters every week for at least two days. She agreed.

That day I lost all three of my men. A curious pattern developed in the house, which somehow involved isolating _her._ Orion would stay at home most of the time when Reg was home. Reg would usually be studying in his study. Reg has been avoiding her like plague and would run to the floo to reach the bloody Potter's everytime. He requested his father to let him stay there for three days in a row, instead of two days separately. Apparently  _MaPo_  was feeling very lonely and sad after twins departure.  _That attention seeking bitch._  And  _Nix_  had requested him to take care of her, if he could. 

Orion capitulated then. His son would leave the house on a Wednesday to Saturday. He usually returned with Orion picking him up after dinner at the Potters. Orion usually left the house on Wednesday as well.

The house was empty and she was so  _alone._ All because of that  _Euphemia Potter._  The sacred families were sure the reason for her not being to produce a heir was because they supported those flithy mudbloods. Only for her to produce possibly the most powerful twins of the century.

Sirius and Reg both held Euphemia deep in their heart, almost like a queen. Both her sons eyes lit up to see her. She knew how Reg looked forward to meeting those wretched Potters, as if he couldn't get away from her fast enough. They have started to call them ridiculous nick name like MaPo or PoPo something. Even Orion has been elevated from father to dad. But she was still mother.

She saw how happy and confident the boys looked whenever they came back from the Potters. How their eyes would dim after coming back to their own house. They would keep to themselves. She really was alone in her big house. Why couldn't she have perfect sons? She  _hated_  these bloody Potters for stealing her sons. She was a mother without her perfect sons.

She saw with jealously raging in her heart as Sirius ran towards Euphemia and hugged her lovingly and his eyes brimmed with happiness and then went and hugged Fleamont as well. Reg followed suit with almost similar expression. She wasn't so jealous of Fleamont because she saw the boys getting closer to their dad. But the rest....

She then saw her son hug James and then hug that wretched girl. They looked like one family. A mother with 3 sons and a daughter. 

"Orion, hello!" Came the sickly sweet voice of the  _girl_. Her husband went to hug both of them. She bristled. Why does he care so much for a girl who was destroying everything they believed in? Before she could say something, 

Reg spoke,"Maybe you guys should find a compartment!" He gave Sirius a significant look at which Sirius's eyes darted to her and he looked pissed. Before he could do or say something, the train sent it's first warning bell. The kids quickly went to hug their parents and rush to the train.

Sirius hugged Euphemia, who told him to have fun( _Fun_?  _He was the heir, he needed to focus on study and creating network. Not fun. Stupid Blood traitors._ ); Fleamont, who winked and told him not to get caught while pranking ( _ughh...heirs are not supposed to prank but be posh and on their best behavior. They have corrupted her heir and her idiot of a husband refused to see that_ ); Orion, who told him all the best for his exams and shenanigans( _idiot, idiot of a husband_ ); and Reg, who told him he would miss him (that warmed her heart). And he left. He left without looking in her direction. Her heart and eyes both became cold with disappointment.

That girl saw something on her face (which was impossible, she had perfected her poker face ages ago) and went running after Sirius. Her son, had stopped, as if he knew she was coming for him. She said something at which he barked a laugh and shook his head. He took her hand and started to lead her to train. She just tugged her hand in his hand slightly, and he  _stopped_. Her son _never_ stopped for anyone. When he decides something, you can't change his mind. Believe her, she has tired. But he looked at her determined expression sighed and came back towards them.

Orion, Fleamont snickered, followed by all the rest of the men and boys; while the women and a red haired mudblood were cooing at the pair.

To her surprise, Sirius came to stand in front of her. She saw the girl's hand give Sirius a squeeze, as if in encouragement, before dropping it. Sirius's eyes flashed with sadness at loss of contact with that girl. He looked at her, his eyes were cold and angry, but then he hugged her real quick and left.

Not before getting hold of that annoying girl again and dragging her along. Not that the wretched girl minded. She had a happy smile on her face and bounce in her steps. Walburga was still  stunned from the impromptu, albeit very very brief, hug and the effect that girl had on her son. She saw Sirius stop at a distance from them, look at the wretched girl's beaming face fondly and give her a hug (like he couldn't help himself). Still _holding her hand,_  they went inside the train.

Fleamont and Orion crackled at that ( _absolute asshat of a husband_ ). Even, Reg chuckled.  _Euphemia_  had a small smile on her face. She turned to Reg, who beamed at that woman, "Reg, darling, I have to go to visit a rune site in the countryside. Would you like to come with me to visit that place?" At Reg's enthusiastic nod, she chuckled and ruffled her son's perfectly set hair. Then turned to ask Orion, if it was okay with him. 

Why was the  _child_  asked the question before the parents? Moreover, _why_ was the child asked? He was supposed to do whatever his parents wanted. This woman had no idea how to raise a child. They left those horrid son-stealing people behind. She couldn't have been more glad for that. She felt inadequate, and she was not. She was the Lady Black, she was superior to them all. _Nasty, blood traitors_. 

She had noticed how friendly they were with the muggle born parents as if they one of their own. She saw Orion being fascinated by the fact that the muggle was a muggle medi-witch. This would not do. She has to teach her son that being Slytherin was above everything to her. Only if she knew this would close the door on any relationship repair chances with her second son as well, she might have reconsidered. But then again, her anger did get better of her, always.

* * *

Cissy didn’t think anyone was happier than she was that the absolutely dreadful Christmas break was over. Her house has been a constant flow of rants and angry outbursts.  Andromeda declaration, that she was going to marry the mudblood she brought to Grimmauld Palace for Christmas Dinner, had her parents mad almost beyond reason.

She saw her mother _crucio_ curse her sister, but her sister was still adamant about it. Her father had threatened to cut off her inheritance. At that, she had merely scoffed. She really shouldn’t. How was she going to live?

Andy had gotten a prestigious job offer from Nicolas Flamel, no less, who was paying her hefty for the research he was conducting. Her soon-to-be-husband has been selected in the Auror training program. He would soon be an Auror. They both would earn enough, not to ever require her inheritance, but still. To give prestige, power and status for love was not something she was brave enough to do so.

Her parents were sure that their upbringing will prevail and Andy would dump that sorry ass of a mudblood and come to her senses. Andy was still not _her_ biggest problem. The bigger problem for her was Bellatrix, who had been in rage since the Christmas dinner. Bella was not a very amiable person when she was in a good mood. In a bad mood, she was worse than Aunt Walburga. Bella has been so pissed off that she was outwitted so thoroughly by her dunderhead, stupid, weak, reckless _Gryffindor_ cousin.

All she could talk about was when she joined the Dark Lord, she was going to make life hell for the Gryffindor cousin. She started to pressurize her parents to get her married to Rudolph as soon as possible. Sadly for her, the marriage was not in their hand. It was in Lord Black’s hand, who has made it a law that woman of the family would only marry after they were of age. This, she thought, was very thoughtful. Although, her parents, who wanted to salvage their reputation, in case Andy did go through the marriage, were not so happy.

Cissy, personally thought, Sirius was one of the brightest of them all. He wasn’t weak or stupid, she has seen him catch on things faster than the whole family could, together. He was stubborn; he was bright; and he was a brilliant manipulator. He just never really applied all of that a lot. He had no reason to.

Since the Potters and Hogwarts, her cousin has started to take interest in the wider society than they were always confined to. She liked to see her cousin so happy across the hall or in the corridors. He was always smiling and laughing. That was nice. He would always smile or wave at her whenever he saw her. Once he kept her company while she was feeling sad, sitting by the lake. She liked this version of her cousin, confident, loving, caring and strong.

She also liked his new friends. They were all so friendly. James and Nix were always goofing off or generally having fun. While she, genuinely thought, that the shy boy, Lupin, was the reason her cousin hasn’t gotten to a lot of trouble. He seemed like the rational one amidst crazily talented and powerful witch and wizards.

James was very courteous and nice. He was sassy and had a flare for drama, but was over all very nice. He could lighten any situation and the twin-speak was surreal to watch. Lupin was shy but as smart as the others. He had a dry sense of humor which complemented the others style well. He was the more studious type, but she figured it was because his future was undecided, unlike his heir friends. There seems to be no judgment among the friends, no sneering, no showing who is better, no exploitation of weakness. Just laughter, love, care and support for each other. They were proud of each other achievements and strengths; and helped the others get better.  

She asked Nix,”If you could be best in your own strength subjects, then why help others get better. What if they get better than you?”

Nix smiled and answered like it was most obvious,”Then they would stand beside me rather than behind me, isn’t that better?”

She loved talking to Nix. Nix would often join her in library. She was polite, nice, funny and brilliant. She could explain 3rd year magic better than the professors sometimes. She had seen Nix explain basics of magic to the mudbloods, eerr....muggleborns, and several half bloods. Hell, she had even seen other purebloods go to Nix for help. She helped everyone, no matter house, age or year, with a smile. If she didn’t know anything, she wasn’t ashamed to ask about it. She was curious by nature and she has seen her in study session having all sorts of conversations with diverse group of people.

She also loved how sweet and caring her cousin turned when she was concerned; and vice versa. It was making of a beautiful love story. She squealed.  _What?_ She was a girl, no matter how proper. She would squeal at cute thing. And her cousin and Nix were very cute. Speaking of cuteness, she saw Sirius and his friends play an intense game of exploding snap.

She had been dragged by Bella and her lankys (which ironically had the Lestranges) to bully the first years. Her cousins friends were all there: James, Nix, Lupin, Evans(a mudblood..errr..muggleborn) and McKinnon. She didn't see the mousy Pettrigrew. He was always following around James and Sirius like a dog. Sirius did tell her that he was nice and all; but he couldn't keep up with them.

Lucius was standing beside her, as if to making sure she was fine. Her heart melted. He was such a sweet gentleman. He cared for her, maybe not as much as Sirius did for Nix, but then nobody did. He was quite handsome and had such a nice smile. He also had such glorious hair. Their children would be pretty and have brilliant hair.

She knew why the Malfoys were invited to their house and vice versa. She wasn’t opposed to it. Malfoys were more amiable bunch than the rest of the purebloods that the family associated with. They have been more of  businessmen than pureblood ideologists. Of course, they believed that pureblood were superior than the rest, but he didn't hate them. They needed them for business, after all. She approved of the marriage, if it were to happen.

Plus, Lucius has always been nice to her. Most people weren't. She was the third daughter of second son of the household. She held no power or leverage, except for the inheritance, she would get when she turned of age. It never seemed to matter to Lucius. He looked very nice when he made a man-bun. He was charming and so gentle with her. He sweetly smiled at her, and she blushed. He really was very pretty..err... handsome.  

“Well if it isn’t for dear cousin and his _friends."_ , sneered Bella. Cissy sighed. _Really? That is her opening line, they are going to slay her_.

Nix completely bypassed Bella, which infuriated Bella to no end, and greeted Cissy pleasantly,

“Hey Cissy. How have you been? This crazy ass cousin give you any trouble?” pointing to Sirius, who winked at her. Cissy blushed.  _Idiots all of them._ She thought fondly. Her heart warmed. No one really addressed her first, especially when Bella or Andy were there. They were the elder one, more visible, more powerful ones. 

"I am fine Nix. How was your break?", asked Cissy pleasantly. She had no issue with Nix marrying her cousin. It might actually be good for her house. 

"Oh come on in now, sit down! Come on, Lucius join her.", Nix said with a wink, which again got Cissy blushing and Lucius smirking as he took his place next to her." Wanna play a game of exploding snap? You have to wager some candies though." 

Lucius and she nodded and took out some candies. Christmas had just finished, they were all loaded with chocolate. Bella was bristling at the door at her complete dismissal. Sirius eyes were dancing with mirth as he took in Bella's reflection in the window. Bella huffed and went along with her other lankys'. 

Sirius booming laughter filled the compartment with the rest joining them, even Lucius and Cissy stifled their smiles. It was hilarious. Nix's ways to shut down people were always surprisingly very effective and hilarious. She could see who her cousin was channeling during the Christmas Dinner. 

The train ride was fun for the first time in her life. They all played exploding snap, then moved on to charmed snakes and and ladder; and then finished off with charmed monopoly. It was so funny to see everyone cussing and losing to Remus in exploding snap. Remus had a glee on his face at the amount of candies and chocolate he won. 

Nix whispered conspiratorially ," We believe he channels his inner devil whenever chocolate is at stake, or he has a deal with the devil. You put chocolate on stake and he would win every time. Its amazing."

It was a very fun filled ride, where Cissy had fun. She wasn't supposed to be a proper lady here. She could laugh as loud as she wanted; curse as much as she wanted (they actually cheered when she did,  _idiots.)_. She saw playful side of Lucius too. He was cheerful, joking and teasing everyone in the compartment. It was light, freeing and lovely.

When Sirius won in snakes and Ladder, Nix said with a loud whisper,"Let the preening begin!" to which Sirius looked at her with a devilish smile. Then, he proceeded to take revenge by tickling her mercilessly. She squealed on the inside seeing this. They both were just ridiculous together and so, _so_ cute.

In Monopoly, no one was surprised when Lucius cleaned the house. James gave him a fist bump and said,"What else did we expect?" with a smile. It was so nice and different from the negative environment, she was used to. No wonder, her brother was so happy here. Here they played, talked, did weird things, had  _friends_ not acquaintances.

But she thought soberly, to gain power, you needed to play the game. Looking at the people around her, she knew she was in the white side of the chessboard, and most of her family was on black side. She wondered who the White king and queen was in the upcoming war was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't really refined it much.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	17. furry little problem

"Full moon comes,

out comes your snout, 

but that okay,

we still love you sprout!" James sang cheerfully. 

"No..NO...what the hell is that? Was that a poem? Song? There was no bloody rhyme?!", exclaimed Sirius from his bed in their dorm. Remus was in library as was Peter. They were all sitting on Sirius's bed.

"It was his attempt at Japanese Haiku. Honestly, Jamie, let it go. We both don't have talent in that department and we are  _not_ telling Remus that we know about his full moon issue by a  _haiku._ " said an exasperated Nix to a pouting James.

They have been brain storming idea about how to convey it to Remus that they knew about his snouty problem without him getting a heart attack or something. Till now, there has been 'lets just straight up tell him' (Sirius), a 'greeting card' (Nix) and the brilliant Haiku from James. 

"You  _what?"_ , asked a slightly terrified voice of Remus from behind them. He was pale, trembling and looked like his nightmare has come to haunt him in full force.

"Err..." They all looked at each other. Sirius being the ever tactile one,"We know you are werewolf and you are an absolute prat for thinking we wouldn't be your friend because of that!"

Nix almost banged her head at Sirius's brash answer. She could see Remus was looking at them in equal amount of terror, exasperation and hope. She was quite familiar with the feeling. She decided to try to reassure Remus of their friendship.

"You are friend, Remus. Did you honestly believe we would leave you because of a curse, Rem? You are caring, kind and a brilliant wizard. So what if you have a curse? I do too. When you all didn't abandon me, why did you think we would abandon you? You are our best friend. I mean you saner than us all. We are _not_ leaving you, my friend. We will do everything to support and protect you." Nix said with a smile and approached him slowly as if afraid that sudden movement will scare him. 

"So you have a werewolf curse, so what? Nix has the amulet problem, Sirius has severe family issues, I have hairy problem! What it is a 'Sirius' condition. Dad invented a potion to cure it. Don't look at me like that! Anyways, we won't abandon you because of your..umm.....'furry little problem'. It just means you will have more hair than anyone else," said James

Putting aside James's ridiculous hair fascination, Remus looked at his friends, worried about their mental stability. James called his turning into a man killing beast every month a furry little problem.  _Furry little problem?_ Did he just...... Then he started laughing at his implausible friends, who had no self preservation skills at all. Instead of running away from him, they were standing in front of him like this is where they will always be. With him.

"You three realize its not a joke right? I turn into a monster that kills people every month. That I have a snout, fangs and claws? That I could kill you? My bites and cuts would leave a mark! I could _turn you._ Why aren't you guys running away from me?!?", cried a frantic Remus. He tried to drill the 'Siriusness' of the situation into his dunderhead, stubborn, loyal friends. 

Sirius and James came forward as one. Sirius parted his lips with his fingers and scrunched his eyes at his teeth. 

"Huh, I thought fangs were supposed to be sharper? They look blunter than your teeth Jamie. And wasn't snout supposed be more pouty?" Sirius said with mock-'Siriusness' with love radiating in his eyes.

While James took hold of his hand and looked at it in wonder. Turning them every which way as if inspecting or searching for something. Then he said dramatically,

"The wonder that is magic! Look, his hands looks just like mine! His hands are softer and gentler than mine. I demand a concession! Aren't claws supposed to sharper and rougher? I suppose it has to do with all the books he reads. It has made his hand softer."

"Or maybe it is the chocolate he gobbles down.", Nix added looking very thoughtful.

"It could be the sweaters he wears", James piled on

"How is a sweater going to make  _hands_ soft?" asked a curious Sirius, as if it was the most fascinating topic he has ever heard.

Before the duo could start discussion on such a ridiculous topic, Remus interjected. He has, unfortunately, being part of the most perplexing topics being discussed with vigor by these three. They were implausible.

"You can't be serious? You.."

"Of course, I am Sirius. My darling mother named me. Don't you remember?", asked a mock-horrified and concerned Sirius. While Nix had her hand on his head as if checking for fever or concussion. 

"He is!", James added encouragingly at Remus as if afraid Remus has lost his memory.

"No one else can be as Sirius as him!" Nix added. Sirius nodded importantly and puffed his chest out. The three of them grinned at furry one. 

Nix hugged him. Remus started to cry in her hair. After a while the boys yelled,"Group hug!" and joined in as well. He didn't think he has ever been this happy. He was accepted and they didn't hate him or shun him. They were still there. He has never been more happy than he was today. They really were going to walk their talk. He was the luckiest bastard alive!

* * *

James found Sirius sitting on the small balcony out of their dorm's window. He was staring at the full moon with almost an accusing look on his face. James joined him in silent appraisal and concern for their furry friend, who was down their in the whooping willow all alone. He felt Nix presence before Sirius did. They both gave her a small smile as she sat between them in silent musing.

"We need to find a way to help him." came determined voice of his half.

They both nodded. "We have already set in motion things to make werewolves more acceptable to society. While Dad, Damoca and Boo are finding a cure to the curse." James listed out things they have done.

"Society perception will change very slowly. The potion, we don't know if it will or can work. Its just a long process." Nix replied in frustration

"We know Nix. But, what can we do? Its not like we can keep him company till then? Is it? The best we can do is support him while he deals with it." replied Sirius gently. He held one of her hands in his hand in assurance.

He saw Nix face scrunch in furrow in deep concentration. He knew it was the tell-a-tale of either a brilliant or insane plan for something. He thought he knew what it was.

"We can keep him company." James said. Sirius looked incredulously at them both. Nix beamed at him. He knew she was thinking what he thought she was. They both nodded at each other. 

James explained to Sirius,"Remember on our first class, Professor Scamandar said that werewolves in company of other animals have better transformation. They were less likely to hurt themselves?"

"He also said in the same class that animagus were really like being an animal itself. Your spirit animal becomes you. If we become animagus, we can keep him company till the time there is a cure. Isn't it better?"

Sirius had a contemplative look but then he nodded. "Yeah, didn't Professor Scamandar say that several animagus friends keep company to the werewolves? It will be safe. But we are not allowed to one till we are of age. Doesn't that bring us back to the same problem?"

"Its illegal here but not in Uganda. Half the students there become animagus by the time they reach 3rd year. We can register there. We can ask them to keep quite. No one will know here then. Uganda and Ministry of Magic here, anyways, don't agree on animagus issue." James answered

"The Uganda's think that an animagus form of a person is a very private business. After all, the animagus is a reflection of your personality traits. So they don't reveal it to any one. It is one of the guarded secrets of the ministry. Unless there is a crime involving the said person, is their animagus form revealed. Or if the person himself/herself demands it to be revealed it to the world." Nix explained 

"But we are not Uganda citizens and we don't go to Uagauduo. We won't be liable to the privacy law, would we?", Sirius looked doubtful.

"Actually we are all technically part of Uganda. All the purebloods are descendants of Uganda, the land of magic. They actually have a law that covers all pureblood families of being Ugandas forever. So yours and mine family are covered under Uganda law." Nix said

"We found out about it when Nix was hit with the curse. We lived there for couple of years till she recovered and was able to control her mind and magic better." James said with a sad look in his eyes.

"Jamie, meanwhile, was busy learning about self-transfiguration. He is a natural and he actually witness Boo animagus process. So we should be good." Nix added with a smile.

"Don't you have the animagus book Boo gifted you?" James asked Nix, who slapped her hand on her head.

"Yeah! I forgot about it. It also has personal notes written by him to help the process, in case I wanted to ever do that. I will bring it." Nix got up but was stopped by Sirius. 

"Wait, wait. So what we become animagis here but will be legal? How will it work?" Sirius asked urgently. He needed to know how illegal, so that he could protect them better.

"No. We will have to go there before final transformation. The final transformation is to done in front of the guidance of the Ugando officials there. But we need to inform the officials that we are planning on converting to animagus. Then its legal and all. G3 would take care of it."James said.

"Okay. I will write to Boo and explain him that we three have decided to become Animagi. I won't tell him why but ask him to keep it quite. I think he would assume it has to do with keeping me safe somehow. You know he would do anything to keep me safe. So he won't ask questions."

Sirius didn't like the fact that there was someone else who would do anything for Nix or the fact that she called him  _Boo_. Isn't that a nickname couples give each other. He grimaced. Then shook his head. She was too young. They both were. And wasn't Boo also working on werewolf cure potion. He has to be old. Like an elder brother.

"So who is this Boo, you keep talking about?" Sirius asked 

James said absentmindedly as he watched Nix get up to get the book,"Oh, he is a nice bloke. His actual name is Babajide Akingbade, from Akingbade Family. You know one of the oldest pureblood family in the world. They are sort of royalty there. They are not pureblood fanatics. I mean, his sister recently married a muggle-born. They are chill like that. Nix and I couldn't pronounce his name when we met them, so she called him Boo. He liked it, so it stayed. He is quite brilliant and helpful guy."

"We stayed with them after Nix amulet incident. We weren't allowed to stay in Uagadou (pronounced:  _Wag-a-doo)_ _._ He should be able to help us in transformation and the materials that we would need. I won't be surprised if he himself comes over to see if we doing fine after the thunderstorm potion thing. He is genius in potion. Dad and he could talk for hours about potions and materials. He is a wicked flyer too."

Sirius breathed in a sign of relief. So this guy  _was_ old, his sister got married. That was fine then. He means, this guy sounds like a good and talented bloke. It was nice that the twins had such helpful older friends.  

"Hey, so I found the book. He is so sweet, he wrote down points. I will read the book completely later but here are things that we need to do. We can actually be able to become one by end of next year! We are in luck, we have an electric storm hitting Hogwarts in next 6 months, so we are able to complete the rest of the process before that, we would need only 3-4 months for completed transformation and full control over it. I suggest we start as soon as possible so by Christmas break, we should be able to be animagus." She finished excitedly. Then other two looked happy as well. 

"Wait, how do you know about the thunderstorm?" Sirius asked curiously. He wondered if she had a vision about it. 

"Boo and Nix were discussing weather patterns once and within next 12 days, there was a new gadget that could detect weather almost accurately. Its insane. They have patented it and the gadget will be in market by end of this summer, I reckon." James replied looking proud of  his sister.

"That's brilliant! So, what is the process?" asked Sirius.

Nix opened her book and a letter was attached on the front with handwritten notes. She started to read it aloud:

"Well it says here, S _abiħ,_

Sirius asked, _"sabiħ_?" Nix replied nonchalantly,"It means beautiful". Her cheeks were a little pink. Sirius figured she was feeling cold and pulled her closer to him. Her cheeks became even more pink.  _Huh?_  

 _1)The wizard has to hold a mandrake leaf in their mouth for a full month. (_ Mandrake leaf is in second year herbology curriculum so it would be available. Its going to taste nasty though.)

 _2)Then, at the next (visible) full moon, the wizard must put their spit-soaked leaf in a phial within range of the moon's pure rays._ (That shouldn't be an issue. We can use the astronomy tower) In _addition to the moon's light, the potion needs some other ingredients, including dew that hasn't been exposed to sunlight or human feet for a full seven days. (_ I am gonna ask Boo to send the potion or get dad to make some. They all have like a collection of these dew and other ingredients we need. _)_

 _3) If the wizard manages to get this far into the process, they need to keep their potion hidden and out of sunlight._  (We can simply keep it in a bag covered in cloth) _An electrical storm dictates the next step, as the potion can't be taken until storm lightning strikes. Every day that they're waiting for the storm, at sunrise and sunset they have to say. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus. (_ Like I said electric storm would hit Hogwarts around August. But damn it, we have be up early every day!).

_4) After the potion is taken, the wizard needs to meditate till his animagus form is clear to him. Then recite"Magia confundantur Animato Animagus" till they start to feel the transformation. This step is tricky and usually occurs in steps. Whatever part of your magic has merged properly with your animal spirit will transform first and then rest will follow. It takes usually 1-2 months for complete transformation. "Merge integrum" is the incantation you need to transform back to human form. The wand needs to be in your hand if you cannot do wandless magic. Although 'Sabiħ' you wont need one._

_5) Once your magic is fully merged with your animal spirit, that is you have full transformation use "transfigo animagus" to transform. To convert back, think of being human again. You need to use the spell till you can do it without the spell. First time needs to be done using the spell though. Your form needs to hold for more than 15 minutes, Sabiħ. Then you need to alert the authorities about the completion of transformation._

_'Sabiħ', write to me if you have any doubts._

_Love_

_Boo"_

"Alright then, lets nick Mandrake leaves tomorrow. But how are we going to do that without getting a detention?" Sirius pondered. The twins face brightened up like Christmas tree. Sirius looked at them confounded. When James went excitedly back inside the dorm while Nix was visibly bouncing besides him. She gave him a glee filled smile. He smiled at that.

James came back with a cloak and put it around him. His head was the only thing visible, the rest was the wall behind him. "Bloody hell! Its an invisibility cloak!!" Sirius exclaimed. 

James nodded excitedly,"Its a family heirloom. Father gave it to me this Christmas. Normally its given after the OWLS but he figured I could use it. It would be useful to prank now. No one can pin it on us now!" Nix nodded excitedly. 

Sirius understood the unspoken truth, James was given the heirloom earlier in case Nix needed it. Sirius looked at the bobbing head of James and said,

"Well mate lets use it tomorrow for our first steal!"  

* * *

 

James and Sirius headed to the Herbology classroom under the invisibility cloak while Nix went to meet Remus. They had decided to keep transformation thing a secret till they crossed at least the second stage. Remus would not agree to it, saying that the dangers outweighed the benefits, _blah blah blah_. He really was the mother-hen of the group. No need to trouble him.

Nix was going to go to persuade Peeves, the poltergeist, to cause mayhem in the teachers lounge. It would be epic. They actually 'persuaded' the poltergeist a lot, to do a lot of mayhem. It was fun to watch. Peeves loved them. He said they were spirit buddies. They didn't mind. They had a amazing partner who would distract everyone while they set their pranks. 

They also made friends with most of the portraits and house elves, who would warn them if some teacher or perfect were coming their way. It was fantastic to be on friendly relation with all the 'invisibles'.  

It was surreal to be under the cloak. No one could see you but you can see everyone. They entered the herbology store room with a simple  _alohomora_. After searching for a while they took 10-15 mandrake leaves, just in case and left quickly. 

As they were coming back to the castle, they saw Lily and Snape walking towards the lake. They seemed to be in midst of heated argument.

".....I understand that. But Sev, do you really have to friends with Avery and McMullier? They are not very nice people, you know?" Lily said a bit of hesitation. 

"Do you have to friends with the know-all Potter, the show-off Potter and I-am-too-good Black? They are all show offs and you just hang on to their every word. Are you turning into their groupie?", Snape said angrily

Lily looked indignant,"You are so prejudiced against them. They are nice people. Nix is know-it-all but she never rubs it in any ones face. She helps others gain knowledge! James is just a bit dramatic but I think it is to bring a smile out of everyone. And Sirius is so helpful and nice. What do you have against them? I am not a groupie, Sev, I am their friend. That is what people are generally to each other." Lily said heatedly.

 _Sev_ scoffed. James had a intense need to smack this piece of shit. Who did he think he was? Arrogant slimly shit. Sirius looked like he wanted to hit him as well. Well they both were soul brothers. It wasn't such a surprise. 

"They have everything anyone could want and they behave like they couldn't give a damn about it.  _Black_ left Slytherin to join Gryffindor. In Slytherin, he would have been top of the power chain. Instead, he parades around with his  _friends_  like he wouldn't care less about the power that comes with just his name. The  _twins_ are heirs to one of the most powerful light families and they don't care about anyone but themselves. You think they are nice. They are not! They just want to show they are more talented and better than themselves. Why else do they prank?"

"You know the twins studied at Uagandou, African magical school, before coming here. Why were they given exception and special treatment. They aren't talented, they have been taught ahead to keep the rest of us behind. The only reason they were able to get away with it is because they are Potter brats and Dumbledore great grandchild. They get several doors opened for them by just stating their names. The rest of us have to work their whole life for what they get on a silver platter at birth. And they scoff at it like it doesn't matter. They go on prattling about their liberal stuff like they are better. What everyone conveniently forgets is that Dumbledore married and had a  _child_ with Grindelwald, who was _The Dark Lord_. But they parade around sprouting liberal ideas and rights for  _werewolves,_ like they have a right!?" Severus ranted on. Lily looked at him with sadness and felt the need to defend her friends rise in her.   

"Sev, Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor by the sorting hat. Not by him. He is a Gryffindor, through and through. As for the Potters, they care about other people and creatures because they have seen first hand what prejudice and injustice does to people. They are nice people who don't have ulterior motive. You cannot fault them for where they were born. They prank to lighten the mood of the school. They never target anyone specifically. Its the whole school. You need to let the bitterness go. They are not at fault.."Lily could be heard defending them as they moved further away. 

Sirius and James could see it had no effect on Snape perception, other than the make it worse. They shrugged. They had better things to worry about then slimy gits opinion about them. If Lily wanted to be friends with such a character, it was her choice. When it fell through, they would be there for her. Until then, her life, her choice.  

The duo made their way to hospital wing, carefully placed the cloak inside James robes(it was so light, he didn't even feel it). They saw Nix sitting beside a sleeping Remus. They went and sat on the empty stools. At Nix's questioning look, they grinned and she nodded. Remus opened his eyes and smiled so brightly.

"Hey buddy, looks like you are recovering well. We got chocolate for you." Sirius said with a smile while his eyes were taking in Remus's new injuries. They were less but they were there. Sirius internally grimaced. They needed to get a move on being an animagus. This looked painful. 

"Wait, before you devour the chocolate. Here, drink this potion. Dad made it. It is the new quick healing potion. It should heal your cuts and bruises quickly!" Nix said, offering him a goblet with bright yellow colored potion. 

Remus took it gratefully and glupped it down. He shivered and next moment felt as if warmth was spreading through him. His bones, which had been aching just a while ago, were feeling new as ever; his sore muscles didn't feel sore anymore; he could feel several of his cuts closing and sealing itself. He lifted a bandage and there was no scar, no mark to say there was even cut there. Several of his older scars were vanishing as well. He looked up astonished.

Sirius and James looked amazed too but Nix had a triumph look on her face with tears in her eyes. "It worked. it bloody Merlin sodding ass worked!!!" She started to dance a little. The three of them looked at her with fondness and amusement. James, although after a moment later, looked ecstatic too as if something dawned on him. And joined Nix in her happy dance. 

It was hilarious and probably the funniest thing he has seen. Then suddenly the hospital wing doors opened and Mr Potter walked in with Dumbledore. Both of them looked at dancing cheerful twins with a fond smiles. Dumbledore looked like he wanted to join them, but somehow controlled himself. It was amazing how childish he could be with the twins.

Mr Potter came to Remus, who looked at him in dread, and smiled,"Hello young man. You are very brave to be going through transformation alone for so many year now. I take from the ridiculous dance of my twins that the potion worked in making it easier for you to heal now?"

"It healed all his scars and cuts from his werewolves claws too. Look!"Nix said excitedly

"Indeed it had. But how is it possible, since I am sure werewolf curse (Remus winced) would have prevented it." Dumbledore asked Nix with a twinkle in his eyes.

Nix looked proud, and hopeful,"We mixed muggle medicine and magical potion to create this. You know what muggle vaccination is. It is a muggle medicine sort of thing that prevents a disease from taking place. They also develop cures from that process. Werewolves and rabies in muggles have a lot of common symptoms. After talking to a lot of muggle experts and several werewolves dad knew, we were able to come to conclusion that rabies is muggle werewolf manifestation. But they have developed a cure and treatment for it too! Although, their cure and treatment are time bound but its there!"

Mr Potter continues,"Boo, Damocas and I worked on first creating a potion that would help heal the werewolves after their transformation. We wanted to see if the curse can be circumvented somehow. It would give us an insight on the curse itself. If the potion, which combined the muggle technology and magic, worked then maybe there is a possibility of cure (it would take a while to develop though). Even if there isn't it would help the werewolves be as normal as possible. With this potion, Remus would be able to join school in morning itself. He only needs to leave for a night every month and be back in morning looking normal. So no one is wiser."

Remus had tears in his eyes as he hugged Mr Potter. Mr Potter let him cry on him and stood around him like nothing would move him. He was thanking his stars for his fortune of making such noble friends. He was forever in debt to them. 

He pulled himself back sniffling and laughed when he saw that Dumbledore, twins and Sirius were doing some form of mixture of ballroom dancing and war dance. It was ridiculous. Implausible. Just like them. He saw Dumbledore do a dip to Sirius, who then went into full war cry and did jingle dance with James while Nix danced a slow dance with her G3, who was actually rolling (he was dancing with his roller skates on. How, one will never know! But it gave him a illusion of gliding across the floor). Then James and G3 started to do jungle dance mixed with rumba movements. It was hilarious. He needed to make a list of things these idiots did. He was sure he could fill a trunk at the end of his Hogwarts years with their shenanigans. 

Meanwhile, Sirius has took hold of Nix and moved her on the floor in practiced movements of formal ball dance. "They don't even realize it. Do they?" asked an amused Mr Potter as he watched Nix and Sirius dance as if in their own world. It was beautiful. They were beautiful, wonderful people. 

Madam Pompfey threw them all out. It was impressive. What was more impressive was when she started to cry seeing that Remus was not in pain and his scars had healed. Mr Potter gave her the potion to give to Remus after the full moon as well as the procedure for making it in future. He also gave her a free sample of their new normal magic healing potion. On same lines but not that strong. She was so grateful but was pissed at the twins, Dumbledore and Sirius for disruptive peaceful environment of  hospital wing.

Remus had the biggest smile on his face. He was feeling better than he had in years and he had  _friends_ who were absolutely wonderful people. He was blessed. Absolutely blessed. Even if they couldn't find the cure, their potion would be of huge help to several werewolves. Many might be able to keep a steady job even now. New year was certainly looking up.

In his happiness, he did not see his friends take a leaf from Sirius's pocket and put it in their mouth each. They almost chocked at the disgusting taste of the leaf and wondered how in the world, were they going to keep it in their mouth for a month.  They sighed and gulped, then grimaced. It was going to awful month. The three mourned for the food loss. But, then they saw the smiling face of Remus. They were Gryffindors and they were going to power through the horrible taste of leaf and try not to choke on it. For their furry friend and his furry little problem, they can do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sabih was in Maltese language. I would be using quite few Maltese words when working with Boo character. No reason. I just like the way the words sound.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	18. The crazy scientists...wizards

When he was a small child, he watched this cartoon movie where a brilliant but crazy scientist ended up creating Frankiestine. Sometimes being friends with these three idiots felt something like that. It was like he was the only one keeping them from creating a monster and destroying the world with it, just to see what it would do.

James, Nix and Sirius, have one day out of pure boredom, decided to test the stupidity of a mob crowd. They decided to test how stupid an idea can be for it to catch on with the public. They decided to make keeping a _l_ _eaf_ in their mouth a hip fashion. 

The three of them had leaf in their mouth for a almost a month now. Nix actually found a spell that sticks it to the top of your mouth for 20 hours straight. The whole school was following the trend. It was ridiculous. 

They would say the most random thing to people who would comment on their leaf thing, depending on their mood.

Nix looked at Rosier, who has decided to try to diss Nix for the leaf thing, dead in her eyes with absolute calm, like it was the most general knowledge and Rosier was the dumb one to ask, said, "So you haven't heard about the old magic where keeping leaf in your mouth continuously for a month gets you the best mate for life, huh?" James and Sirius nodded.

"She won't Nix, it's old magic. Not everyone is privy to it." Sirius said as if stating a matter of fact. James nodded and Remus banged his head against the wall. 

The girls went crazy! He saw all of them, even Lily and Cissy (Cissy was the only Slytherin that didn't try to diss Nix. She was only one who talked to her. The rest tried. Emphasis on tried.), with a leaf in their mouth for a month. Everyone wanted a best mate. Nix had laughed for an hour straight after that. She had mirth dancing in her eyes when Slytherins, specifically Bella and Rosier, would try to diss her, only to spit out leaves, look horrified.  Then, they would take another leaf and place it in their mouth; and then continue their dissing. Except by then, it was like a old comedy movie scene. Sirius laughed in their faces for 10 minutes straight after it happened for the first time.

When Uranus Flint tried to diss Sirius, he looked at him with a superior look and said,"It increases stamina, dumbass." And left. He meant stamina to tolerate idiots. But for some reasons, boys from 3rd year onward went nuts about it. After all, Blacks were old family and they knew about magic more than anyone else. Whereas, the young ones saw their elders and decided to follow up. Maybe it would increase their stamina for doing homework or tolerating Professor Binns class at least. 

So, slowly, the whole school was following these dunderheads in their experiment. The ridiculousness and hilarity of the situation dawned when Professor Slughorn almost spit his leaf in Snape's cauldron when he laughed real loud at one of the jokes made by Sirius from other side of the room.

The Herbology people were suddenly popular as people kept requesting them to tell the type of leaf, which the three of them have refused to tell anyone. This resulted in groups of people using different leaves, hoping they got the right one. Sirius confided to Remus that they were using mint which was a gift from a Lord from India. 

The three just had a huge laugh every night about the idiots that followed them. It was, honestly, one of the best pranks they had pulled. Even Professor McGonagall looked amused and gave up on trying to tell people that a leaf did nothing. 

Students refused to believe her as their bit of information came from the heirs of oldest houses of magic. What did McGonagall know? Only if they knew.

Alright, he agreed that the three managed to look cool even with leaf in their mouth. But  _come on! A leaf in your mouth_ for a month. They have already proved their point of mob stupidity; but now where just seeing who can last longer. Absolute idiots!! More idiotic were the students who still followed them. 

The three leaf trend setters have also developed another habit, it was more worrying for Remus than the whole school acting like absolute idiots. They were not eating food. They had almost completely shifted to liquid diet, which again the whole school followed, thinking it had to do with that special ancient magic. He would have laughed, if it wasn't for the mournful look the three had when they looked at food. 

One day, Nearly headless Nick and the three spotted same expression while looking at the food. Nix simply said that the taste of leaf in the mouth made everything bitter. This lead to everyone using bitter leaves in hope of getting the right leaf. Remus just sighed and hoped that this madness ends soon enough.

He gave the three a wave as he left for the whopping Willow. He was in better spirits than before, thanks to fast healing Potter potion. He didn't realize that the three were oddly excited.

* * *

"Oh full moon! I think I am in love with you." James said looking at the moon. 

"Merlin! We can eat now. After this, we are going straight to kitchen. I miss food!" Sirius whined.

"Alrighty then. Get your phial out. Place it here.  Moonlight is coming directly, so that should do. Now, let's add a hair, a silver teaspoon of untouched dew, chrysalis of Death's-head Hawk Moth. Good. Now add the leaf in the phial. Incant _'Amato Animo Amato Animagus_ ' pointing the wand at your heart. Cool, let's go to the secret room near trophy room and keep the phials there." The three kept their phials in separate corner which was dark, quite and peaceful. Nix added few wards and they left for kitchen. 

While stuffing themselves with everything they could (house elves were delighted to see them eating again), James said with satisfaction,

"It is surprising how easy it was. Not only were we able to complete the first task without any one being wiser but we pranked the whole school as well. That was hilarious."

Nix and Sirius nodded and smiled, then stuffed more food. Nix gave both the boys a specially designed watch which would alert them about sunrise and sunset everyday. They went to their dorms and slept happy knowing that they were one step closer to helping their friend.

* * *

Remus returned back before the others boys were even awake. He was so happy about it that he freaked Peter out. Peter couldn't understand these people. Remus sighed and sat down on his bed.

Nix came into room, seeing the huge smile on Remus face, her own face split into a smile. Remus noticed that her permanent look of distaste because of those bloody leaf was gone.

"Leaf trend phase is over, is it?", He asked her humorously.

"Yup. One month complete. Bloody hell! It feels good to not taste that rotten taste of the leaf." Saying this she collapsed on Remus's bed. Remus huffed and started to pat her head lovingly. 

He really did love her. She is what he imagined his little sister would be like. She was sweet, caring, smart, unbiased and funny. She smiled back.

"I am happy you look better, Rem" Nix said sincerely. His heart melted with love for this beautiful person. He smiled and hugged her.

Suddenly, he was hugged from behind. Hugging would be being very generous term for it. Someone literally fell on top of him. He turned to look at James who has decided that Remus was going to be his bed. Sirius had woken up, as well and laid down next to Nix. Sirius actually nuzzled Nix's hair with a smile, hugged her like his favorite pillow and slept on. Nix was looking at the ceiling in thoughtful manner, not bothered by this at all. 

She turned to see Remus looking like a flattened pancake, said softly, "Breakfast will start in 10 minutes." The effect was amazing the two of them sat up straight and ran to get ready. Nix yawned. Remus smiled. The life was back to normal.

* * *

The trio had developed a weird sorts of schedule. They would be awake at sunrise and take their wand at their heart and murmur something, which they did at evening too, and then go back to sleep. They did this without fail every day since they had stopped their leaf experiment. Except this was kept quite. So Remus didn't know what to think.

A day before his birthday, there was a thunderstorm which had the three excited beyond belief and him confused. Nix looked at the thunderstorm with a frown and said, "Shit! The gadget still needs some work!"

The three hurried out of the common room towards the trophy room. The trio each took a phial, which had some sort of potion in it, and rushed outside. They refused to answer any of Remus question. Remus was left trailing behind them, hoping they won't do anything stupid.

They reached outside and  stood in middle of the storm. They took the phials in their hand and lifted it like the Lion King scene. When a lightening flashed, Remus saw that each of the potion, which was pure white, turned a different color. Sirius became pure black, James became a muddy brown while Nix's became red colored. They hurried inside, took out their wand pointed at themselves and said ' _Amato Amigo Amato Animagus'_ and drank the phials in a go.

Remus looked at them as understanding dawned on him. They were trying to become Animagus. His friends were trying to become  _illegal Animagus._ Oh Merlin!

"Have you three completely lost it? You have been doing process of becoming Animagus alone without any guidance? What if something had gone wrong? You could have been permanently disfigured...is that why you started the leaf trend? You had Mandrake leaf in your mouth for a month? Bloody hell..you guys could have been hurt or injured or, worse expelled! You could go to Azkaban. Have you thought about it? You are doing it because you are bored? Have you lost your mind? Its not a game! It's your life!!" He finished with a scream and saw that they all were looking at him with patience as if waiting for him to finish.

"Yes, we are planning to become Animagi. But not because we are bored of the school curriculum."Nice started

"Which we are. But we have decided to become one, so that..."James added

"..We could keep you company till a cure or something else is designed."Sirius finished

Remus was floored. Absolutely floored. They were becoming Animagi to keep him company. They were risking their lives for him. He went and hugged them. Then like a brick wall fell on his stomach.

"It's illegal. You could go to Azkaban! No, absolutely not! You won't do this for me. No!"

"It isn't illegal. Not technically. If you would listen, we would tell you everything." 

So he sat as he listened to their ingenious plan. He was right they were the crazy scientists but instead of planning on destroying the world, they used their intelligence to protect others. Well he be damned! 

* * *

After his epic rant and mothering, Remus came on board with the whole animagus thing. They now had to meditate till they were able to see their animal spirit. They have been meditating for a month now with little results. Although, James did get a glimpse of his animal. All he could tell was that it had four legs( _honestly Jamie!)_ , it had horns and was brown. So it looked like Jamie was something of a deer, bear or something. 

"I hope you are the 12 horned buck, they are getting endangered. Maybe you can repopulate them." Nix joked, then proceeded to run away from him as he chased her.

All Sirius heard was a growl while Nix could only tell that she was flying. Remus would get them books and guide them through meditation. Meditation had another effect. Their magical core calmed down and after every meditation, their magic would more powerful and strong. It was amazing.

Remus, on the other hand, was busy studying with the rest of the year as his friends just meditated. They refused to study on principle that they didn't want to.

Lily tried to get the trio to study but they refused saying they already knew all of that. At this the rest of the year, including Slytherins, decided to quiz them. They all came out with flying colors, even in history( they did reenactments of the history chapters to keep it interesting and funny). It was uncanny. So the rest of them left them alone. Although, he saw Snape studying with an intense vigor after that.

He entered one night after studying to see Jamie, Sirius and Nix on the floor meditating. He smiled. Jamie, then, took his wand pointed it at himself and said ' _Magia confundantur Animato Animagus'._ He whooped and started to strut excitedly around. The other two looked at him with stink eye but then he said,

"I am a stag. Woo hoo! I am the king of the deers! I don't have antlers yet! But my eyes are hazel and I have brown hair coat."said a celebratory James. The rest of the three joined in his happiness. 

The next week, Sirius whooped and said he was a dog. At this the rest replied, "We know!" He looked affronted but then had a silly grin and said, "No, you idiots! I  _am_ a dog. A huge black dog. My eyes are grey, similar to mine!" They all got excited then Nix said, "Please tell me you are a Labrador." Sirius smiled at her. By this time, James was able to get deer head and legs. 

One day the three of them saw Nix looking shocked. They went to her worried. "Can a animagus be a magical creature?"

"No. An animagus can only be a normal animal. Not magical. Why?", said Jamie, looking concerned.

"Because I am a Phoenix, like Fawkes!" said a still stumped Nix. They all looked at her worried.

"What if you transform and there are complications?", Remus asked worried

"Would you get Fawkes powers too? Like carry huge load, burst into fire, never die, have magical tears?" Jamie asked excitedly.

"We should ask a hypothetical question to Minnie tomorrow.", said Sirius with a 'Sirius' look on his face.

So next morning, during their class, all four did their practice spells within 10 minutes with perfection. Nix raised her hand. Professor McGonagall came over and saw their perfect transformation and smiled. 

"Professor, we actually wondered if you would join in our discussion, if you are not too busy?" Nix asked sweetly.

Professor nodded and conjured a chair and sat down with them. 

"We were discussing the limits that a human transfiguration can go to?"explained Nix.

"Well, human transfiguration limits itself only to the talents and magical capabilities of the witch or the wizards. A powerful wizard like your G3 could transform himself into anything with none the wiser. A lesser wizard won't be even able to convert even, his hand properly. That's why proper human transformation is done from NEWT level, to prevent possible permanent damage."

"Can we convert into anything using transfiguration. I always fancied flying without a broom. So, is it possible that I could convert myself into a bird? Maybe like Fawkes, be able to carry Nix around. That would be fun." asked James with a dreamy look. 

Professor chuckled,"I am sure you would love to in air all the time, Jamie. Yes, you can convert yourself into a bird but you won't be able to carry Nix around. When a human transfiguration occurs, human is transforming into the bird. You are not inheriting properties of the bird, unlike an animagus transformation, just the physical structure. You would only be able to carry Nix, if you can do it in human form, although as a bird it might be more difficult."

"So as an animagus, do you inherit properties of the said animal as well?", asked a curious Remus.

"Yes of course, Remus. When you become an animagus, you are connecting with a spirit animal of yourself. It can be whale, lion, bird, a moth, anything. You inherit some of their traits as well. Like I can't taste sweet things anymore (At the four's horrified expression, she huffed); I can even hear Ultrasonic noises (She smiled at their awed face), I don't really sleep, only nap now (she actually ruffled Sirius's hair at his horrified expression); oh I can run really fast now. I can also drink seawater without any issue."

"Your animagus form will have a feature that would connect it your human form, like I have markings near my eyes. So, if you were an animagus James and its form was a bird, you could carry Nix provided that bird had that much energy."

Nix looked excited and said,"Can we a Centaur, Fawkes or , or...?"

"No, my dear. Magical creatures are not possible in the animagus form. At least it hasn't been recorded yet. Honestly, there haven't been a lot of cases but even in Uganda, most wizards are normal animals."

"But what if someone becomes one? Are they not animagus? Do they become something else?" Nix asked curiously, though James could see that she was anxious.

"No ,dear, they would be animagus, just one of a kind." Professor smiled kindly and excused herself when Peter set fire to his wood somehow.

Nix was worried but decided,"I am going to complete my transformation. Lets see what will happen, maybe I will unleash a new magical quality or something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This I think is a small chapter by my standards but i made it in two parts, or else it would have been way too long. What do you think? Suggestion for Nix Phoenix form?  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	19. Fly away

After there discussion with Professor McGonagall, they continued their transformation process while the rest of the school got busy with studying. Nix had managed to develop her wings and head by now. James was almost able to convert completely, only some part of his still needed to be converted. Sirius was able to convert his leg, tail and head as well.

They have entered the end of April, when James was able to convert completely. He was majestic in one word. He had antler with still relatively small body (Remus thought it had to do with his age, as he was maturing so would the stag) and thick unruly brown hair coat. His eyes were still hazel and he had a black snout. Nix went to touch his coat and muttered,"Merlin! Jamie, you still have unruly hair, even here!" at this Jamie made a noise, which they interpreted as animal version snort, then converted to human form. He had a huge smile.

With stag animal characteristics, James  was able to see not exactly 310 degree but more than they could (it was freaking); jump really high (that was funny); swim like a pro(which he already could but still); he could see at  night now without any light, with accurate precision(brilliant when they were out exploring the castle at night). He could run really fast. He also developed a taste for leafy food. It was amusing as his walk changed to  represent almost a strut type of walk. Nix suggested 'Strutter' as his nick name. 

Sirius was able to convert next, just before their first final exam. He was sitting on his bed idling around (Merlin forbid! That these three open a book!) when in his place, there was a large black dog. He was large even now, Remus wondered how huge he would be when he matured age wise, mentally Remus has given up all hope that any of the three ever would.

Nix came into the room and Remus saw Sirius being fixated by her, then he blinked. His tongue rolled out and he bounced towards her. Nix was on the floor with Sirius licking her all over the face. Laughing, she stopped him and looked at him in wonder.

Sirius sat down like a good boy while Nix ran her fingers through his fur (Remus saw amused that Sirius's tail was wagging like crazy). "Your hair is so soft and silky!" Sirius barked happily. Nix cooed at him which made Sirius wag his tail even more furiously. It was hilarious.

Sirius lifted his paw and placed it on Nix's thigh. Nix caught hold of one the paws," You have such soft pads. Does it hurt when you walk?", She asked the Animagus with concern. Sirius gave her a a loopy smile with tongue falling out and shook his head. He then licked her again. 

"You are going to keep doing that aren't you?" Nix asked him in amusement when she noticed something. "Sirius, hold still! Is that a bird? A red, gold, blue bird? That's wasn't there before was it?" She asked Remus. Remus looked closely at the shape that Nix was pointing out. It was placed right above where his heart should be as a dog. It was very interesting.

"I don't know. He just transformed. It looks like a ...."his words got lost as James entered with a loud bang, then became excited seeing Sirius.

James came and said,"Finally! See, I told you, we don't need a dog. We have a huge one now. Merlin he is huge and Black. You do take your name 'Siriusly', huh? Dog Star and Black!" James snorted, the converted into stag. The two animals looked at each and sniffed each other. Then they were bouncing and strutting around the room in happiness. Nix was looking at them fondly.

"Which type of dog do you think he is? He doesn't look like any normal dog?", Nix asked.

Remus looked thoughtful and then looked at Nix, then looked back at Sirius. He had a very contemplative look on his face. He told her he would be back in a minute and left. Nix watched him leave curiously.

Sirius came back towards Nix and sniffed her. She saw his eyes dilute and looked at him with question in her eyes. After a while, he barked and standing on his two legs, he hugged her. He converted into human in the same position. She thought she heard him sniff her as human.

Before she could question his sniffing ways, Remus came hurrying inside with a book and said,"I think he is a grim. The magical animal grim."

Sirius looked at him stunned. "You sure?" 

"Yeah. Look!" He had the new addition of fantastic beasts. There was a picture of a dog who looked uncannily like Sirius Animagus form, just with yellow eyes. 

Sirius eyes got round and then he laughed. "You are not the only anomaly." He said to Nix, who grinned.

It took Sirius a while to adjust to his increase power of smell and hearing. He could see as well as James now in night. The most hilarious was when after his complete transformation, he ran on his bed in circles before settling in with a happy sigh. He also had to curb his urge to pee on his bed to 'mark his territory'.

It was so funny to see Sirius eyes widened as he took first food bite. His taste buds have apparently improved and he could taste everything to its minute details. "I didn't know salt could be like this.' ''Merlin, I am never eating mustard again!' the constant food commentary got annoying after a while.

It took him a while to curb his instinct to chase Quaffle when they went to see the quidditch finals. The first thing James did after night of his transformation was to yell at Sirius, "Sirius, be a good boy and fetch me my homework." Sirius happily bounded off his bed, grabbed James's homework with his mouth; and was on his way bouncing back when he froze. He just realized that he was in human form. James and Remus started to laugh hysterically. Sirius converted into dog and ate James's homework. 

Nix found out that if you scratched his hair, his legs would shake involuntarily. He got very jealous if Nix even spent a second with some other guy, girls were fine. Remus almost rolled on floor laughing as he saw Sirius struggle with his animal side to not create a ruckus, as Nix was laughing with a group of boys. Nix had already yelled at him once because of it. Nix told him that she realized that the 'animal' in him was making him act crazy but if he created a ruckus again, she would hex him(which didn't perturb Sirius a bit) and will not talk to him for 10 hours (this got him to struggle like hell to curb his 'animal side'). It was all ridiculously hilarious to watch.

* * *

By end of exams, James was able to hold his form easily for as long as he wanted. James also has started to grow very tiny antlers. Sirius could hold his form for  30 minutes without any issue. They both didn't need their wand anymore. Nix still had trouble transforming. She huffed and decided to go to Astronomy tower to think. When she got there, Fawkes came flying towards her.

She smiled at the beautiful bird. "Hey girl. You know I am a Phoenix too, just not in name. It's ironic, isn't it? I suppose not...I am a Phoenix, Sirius named after Dog star is a dog, Remus Lupin is a wolf. Huh, I suppose only James is the odd one." She tried to transform into a bird with no success.

"I don't know why I can't transform!" She said in exasperation. Fawkes looked at her and then started to sing so beautifully that  as Nix, listened to her in trance, all she could think was 'I wish I could join her in singing'. Suddenly, her vision changed and she felt her body get smaller and lighter.

She gasped. She had transformed! Oh Merlin! She still felt like her but her body was different. She moved her hands..er... wings and flapped. She saw Fawkes doing the same and she simply copied her. 

Then she was flying. Oh! the feeling of freedom! Merlin! It felt amazing to feel the wind under her wings. It was better than riding her broom. The view from here was different. They were sharper. She could see a mouse running across the lawn from 100 feet high. She could see things that she was sure she won't in normal form. She flew over the lake and saw herself being reflected in it. She stared in awe.

She had crimson feathers with white strips on her body and a golden tail with strips of oceanic blue and pure white color woven in an intricate design. The tail was as long as a peacock's. Her claws and beak were gleaming gold and her eyes are blue, like her own. Her scarlet body feathers glowed faintly in darkness, while she had golden feathered wings. Her head was a mix of an eagle and a small dragon. 

She flew for a while above the Hogwarts ground with Fawkes as company. She felt like she could see things for the first time. Was she blind all this while?

More than that, she 'felt' magic in the air. She could see different forms of magic in the air. She realized with a shock that it was the magical wards in the air protecting Hogwarts. Hogwarts walls were brimming with magic. No wonder the castle had its secrets that even G3 after a century haven't unrevealed completely. The castle was magic itself and was alive. It was beautiful.

She flew towards the boys dorm. It was lucky that they have started to keep window open. The boys liked to be closer to outdoors now. She perched herself on James's bedpost and chirped softly. James woke up and his jaw fell open. Nix felt very proud. She did feel beautiful. 

"Nix?", James whispered. Peter was sleeping near by. Nix nodded her head and then unfurled her wings which reached Sirius bed.

James looked at her in awe and slowly brought his hand to pet her. Nix hummed, which came out a little musical. Sirius came from behind him, Nix wings had tickled his nose when she unfurled them. 

"Merlin! You look gorgeous! Wow!" Sirius said in awe. Nix just couldn't look away from Sirius. In her animagus look, he looked even more handsome. His features were sharper and he was just so handsome. Where is cheekbones always so defined? His grey eyes looked so pretty, she could see every shade of grey in his iris. She saw how his face lit up when he smiled. How his eyes got lighter. His hair looked graceful. He looked like the beautiful boy, poets wrote about.

"Bloody hell! Is your animagus still taking form?" At Nix's head tilt, James explained,"Your wings and body which had white color has turned greyish black! Just now!" Nix turned to see herself in the window panel in front of her. Indeed, the white strips on the wings and on her feathers have turned dark black. It looked rather nice with her blue, gold and red combination. She didn't understand why. Maybe as an magical animagi, there would changes in her different then others. She shrugged. Then her eyes latched to Sirius reflection in the mirror. 

She had this strong feeling of loyalty and protectiveness for him. It just grew out of her and seemed to latch on to him. She didn't understand it. It must be what Fawkes felt when she decided to be domesticated by G3. Wait,  _domesticated?_   She shook her head. Sirius was petting her head and not cooing at all ( _boys don't coo Nix!)_.

When she saw James, it was like her animagus recognized him as her pack....crew..., screw it, she was going to call it Flame (it felt nicer). But when she saw Sirius, she felt like singing and marking him as hers... _huh? okay weird arena, leaving now._   _Yeah, she has lost it._ Sirius was giving her a look. He had probably asked her a question when she had landed in the weird arena. So she thought about her human form and she transformed.

Except, she was still perched on the bedpost and fell headfirst on James bed. James and Sirius laughed out loud. She just sighed. Peter, thankfully, was a deep sleeper; he slept on. Remus woke up and glared at them.

She smiled at him. She didn't know how, but he could read her like a book. Actually, he could read everyone like a book. It was an amazing ability. She had started to call him, Obi Wan. He got excited and came to them.

"You can transform?" At her affirmation. "Brilliant. How long could you hold it?", he asked her.

"What time is it?", Nix asked.

"3'0 clock" ,Remus answered, looking curious 

"Oh! I have been able to hold my form for two hours or so, then. I have been flying around Hogwarts, all this time. I can see the magic in the air when I am in my animagus form. Its gorgeous. My eyesight has certainly improved. Other than that I don't know if I have any other physical changes. Oh and then black color suddenly developed all over my body after transformation was complete. That was weird but I suppose having a magical animagus will have weird stuff, eh? What were you asking before Sirius?" She shrugged.

Sirius was staring at her and visibly shook his head as if to clear it.  _Was he feeling the weird feeling, too?_

"I was asking if you were alright. Your temperature was very high." Sirius asked her with concern lacing her voice. At his concern James and Remus looked concerned too. Phoenix was a magical creature. Maybe she was having some form of side effects. They mean combined with spontaneous color change and temperature high, it was concerning. 

"Oh that. Well, Fawkes runs hot too. But it doesn't burn you. I suppose it's just being a Phoenix thing. I feel fine.", Nix said. Sirius pressed his hand on her head to check her temperature and smiled. Her temperature was normal. So it was her animal spirit.

"Let's see, if you can fly with us as easily as Fawkes can? Oh we should see if you could appear and disappear from one place to another, too? Sing for us when you are in Phoenix form. Eh?" James said excitedly, already grabbing his clock, as were the other two. James covered the four of them under invisibility clock and they left for the grounds. 

Nix smiled and converted into the beautiful bird and flew a little over them. Remus breathed sharply, she looked at him and felt similar to James, like he was part of her Flame. She wondered why Sirius was different? 

"Come down a bit, lets see, if can carry us!" James said as he took hold of her long tail. She flew higher without any issue till James feet were off the ground. James gave an excited whoop. Sirius held on to James's leg, Nix flew even higher with same result. Remus held Sirius legs and said, "If it gets to much, chirp or something, and I will drop, okay?" 

Nix flew higher and she felt that no issue with the weight. It felt like was picking up a book, not three 11 year old boys. She took off flying with the three of them yelling in delight. They flew above the lake, near forbidden forest and on quidditch pitch. They were flying near forbidden forest again when James said his hands were getting tired. She lowered them down one by one easily and transformed, looking no worse for wear.

She was tackled into a bear hug by the three. They all had huge smiles on their faces and then the three  transformed as one into their respective animals. James started to strut as if dancing to a happy tune.

Remus saw Nix and Sirius eyes locked with each other with similar look of wonder. He knew they were both confused as to feel what they were. He wondered how long it would take them to realize, their different or, may he dare say intense, feelings for each other were? They had symbol or parts of each other on their body. The bird on Sirius heart was exact replica of Nix's animagus and Nix's animagus had Sirius's color all over her. Her tail intricate design actually showed a grim. It was not as clear as Sirius's bird but it was there. It happened after they made contact with each other. He was sure. These idiots were soulmates! That too of magical kind. The rarest of the rare. As if any more proof was needed for their blossoming love! 

They all didn't notice another pair of blue eyes twinkling with pride, as he saw the three animagi wandering on the Hogwarts ground with human form werewolf as their guide. He smiled knowingly at the Phoenix and Grim staring at each other. It was just the confirmation he needed for his theory about these two. Well another one of his hypothesis was correct. Maybe he should offer them some Lemon Drop or maybe 200 points for such a brilliant and perfect human transformation at such an early age. Hmmm.....Dumbledore walked back singing softly with Fawkes perched on his shoulder, humming along with him.

* * *

Nix had written to Boo about complete transformation and asked when they were supposed to come for final registration. Boo had written that the Uganda Ministry has asked them to come at their earliest date of convenience. Father had agreed to take them there. Sirius's father has only allowed Sirius to come for 2 days. So they would have to complete the process in those two days. His father wanted him to start on Family magic. 

The trio decided that the four needed a name. Something related to their Animal form but they decided to keep the suggestions open till their first outing with the wolf. 

James had rejected Bambi(Aww! Come on Jamie. That is a cute cartoon. Don't you want to be one!) with a resolute No. Sirius rejected the name of 'scooby Doo' or 'dalmation' or 'pickachu' (last suggestion was weird). Remus rejected the 'wolf'  and 'howl'. Nix rejected 'tail' 'peacock' 'colors'. They were still searching for the names.

The finals results were announced. Much to disgust of Snape, Phoenix, James and Sirius, have all topped their year. With Remus and Lily snagging the next places. Ravenclaws and Slytherins were all miffed as they all knew that the top three haven't even opened their books. Snape was sure the reason for 'brilliance' was advanced tutoring and nothing to do with magical capabilities. The injustice of it all! Nepotism! Wealthy showoff's!

He was sulking as Lily wanted to sit with the other first years who had managed to sit in the big cabin, somehow. He sat down next to Lily as she excitedly started to chat with Phoenix.

He didn't like Phoenix at all. He knows she is crazy smart, maybe smarter than Dumbledore, and a powerful witch. She is nice, kind and sweet too. She never sneers his way, unlike her two companions, especially Black.

She is pretty, too. Her eyes are a beautiful shade of light blue. Her eyes' shade changes depending on her mood. She has a sense of fun too. But Lily was better. She was kinder, nicer and smarter than all these pureblood showoffs. Despite being a mudblood, she was able to be in top five of her year. Give a few year and she beat these arrogant pompous stuck ups. She had such pretty and intense green eyes.  

He knew she liked Phoenix a lot. According to her, 'Nix' was the only girl, apart from Marlene (who was way too obsessed with quidditch though), that she could tolerate and talk to. He didn't like her. Especially now, when she was practically in lap of Black and everyone was acting like it was normal. Lily has told him that the twins and Sirius didn't have personal space concept. He has seen it enough times in classes and Great Hall to know it was true.

They actually carried one bag instead of three, one day per person. They simply charmed the bags with light feather charm and endless expansion charm. They ate from one plate, a lot of times. He was sure Phoenix wore the boys clothes more than her own, like she was wearing Sirius's shirt today.

He liked the fact that she didn't care what anyone thought and did what she wanted to do. Lily confided in him that since Nix didn't give a damn, the rest of the girls have decided to not be too bothered by being proper all the time, either. So all girls in their year and Gryffindor have started to wear comfortable clothes, at least when they were in the Gryffindor room. Outside it hardly mattered, they were all in robes. He was happy that Lily felt less pressured to fit in, thanks to the Potter girl.

He has seen first hand how Phoenix used absolutely innovative ways to shut people down. He liked that despite the fact that she could practically wipe the floor with everyone if challenged magically, she used non-violent ways to douse all fights. He was happy that Lily had a pureblood friend who didn't care about her mudblood...err..muggleborn status. He definitely found her annoying and know it all. He wasn't staring at her for past 15 minutes. He wasn't. He was looking at the view outside. She just happened to be there. He did notice Sirius and James' glare directed at him though. He  _really didn't_ like them.

The topic went to the dreaded 'oh! its holidays, so lets show off how much money we have!'.

'Scotland' "Ireland" "America' 'Austria' "Netherlands' 'Dutch' 'Monaco' 'Germany' 'Spain''Russia' 'Switzerland' 'Portugal' 'Malta' 'Greece' 'Uganda' 'Morocco' came replies from all around the compartment. Snape sneered.  _R_ _ich arseholes. Love to show off, didn't they!?_

"Are you two going to different places. James said Uganda and you said Morocco?" Lily asked Phoenix.

"We will be visiting some old friends in Uganda..", Phoenix said with a bright smile

"..Dad has some business, he needs to take care of.", James added

"..It would so great to met them again!"

"..I can't wait to show Boo my new quidditch move, reckon he would give me some tip?"

"..He is a wicked flyer. He probably would.."

"..Man, I miss him. He is fun bloke!"

"..Oh then we would have vacation in Morocco..." Phoenix said

"..where we will see Djemaa El Fna"James looked excited

"...Erg Chigaga"

"...Roman ruins"

"Eat  _Bissara,_  yumm... _"_  James licked his lips in anticipation

"The lamb..."

"Okay we get it, you will eat the whole country.", Sirius ended the salivating twin's twin-speak with a smile. 

"..Oh the cheese!" James said with dreamy look after few seconds. Sirius sighed with a fond smile. Lily giggled and Snape looked at her with stink eyes. He was always amazed when twin speak happened.  

"I wish we were going to Japan again. That was fun." James said with a sort of longing in his voice.

"We should ask them to take us there next year!" Phoenix finished with excitement. 

"What about you, Lily, going anywhere?" James asked.

"Yeah. Switzerland! It would be so exciting...." He tuned off the conversations that were happening.

Did they all realize how lucky they all were? Here he had save every penny so that he could buy a new pen. And there Black and Potter were discussing buying latest brooms as if it was a pen they were talking about. They already had the last latest model. They wanted new one because they were entitled brats of families with a lot of money to spare.

He had heard Pettigrew say to someone,"They have like galleons lying around their luggage and bed without any care. They are super rich. I don't understand why they still won't make me their friends. We have been dorm mates for a year!" He said the last part loud for the quarter to hear. It didn't seem to have any effect to his friendship status.

Snape thought, he probably would have to find work during summer to pay for expenses in school next year. These three had everything he ever wanted. Power, blood status, family name, wealth, a  _loving_ family, good looks, abundance of natural talent, charisma and confidence. They were careless, reckless, dramatic people who never took life seriously. Why would they? They have everything handed to them on a silver platter.

He knows Black and Potter make fun of his attire, hair and how he just studies. But if wants to be recognized, he needs to be brilliant in something or else his chance of making a name or life for himself would be gone. This Voldemort bloke seems to be a nice path to gain some power and money. He didn't see why everyone was so repulsed by Dark magic. If Dark Magic helped him get rid of his abusing father, then he bloody well will choose it. He would not be weak!        

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always have trouble with Snape's character.  
> They go to Uganda and register next.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	20. Summer holidays...please be over already!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter has been modified a bit. I didn't realize that i had uploaded an older version of the chapter. Hope you like it, cheers!

Remus mate,

I am having absolute blast here. There is a huge forest in Boo's castle. The feeling of running along the herd was brilliant. I think the young does like me. They were awfully affectionate. Nix was laughing, I know she was, even if it wasn't clear in her bird form.  _I was laughing. It was hilarious. He was blushing._ I was not! _Were too!_ Anyways, Nix, Amber, Nat (other mates from Uagandou; who are also a bird) had a race. Nix won with time to spare. She could have taken a nap and still won.  

I didn't realize how fast she was when she flew us, but seeing from the ground, she was almost a blur.  _I was going slow._ Now you are bragging.  _I am not. Just because you couldn't outrun a rhino, you can't whine._ Hey! I didn't lose. I saved my life. He was going to squash me.  _He was going to squash you? He was 9 feet away from you._ You don't know. He was fat and fast.  _So you were scared. I told Boo you were!_ What was I saying?  _That you were scared._ I was, I am not ashamed to say that. The guy's huge. W _e need to have a race with Padfoot._ You would have undue advantage. So you won't be racing, we would.  _Excuses, excuses_

Oh, Nix's laugh now almost feels musical.  _La la la laa_  ...She is still annoying though.  _Look who is talking!_ But the point is we are registered now.  _Yay!_ We can keep you company next time.  _Double yay!_  Learn a different word. _Hurrah?!_

Dad said that this time it was easier for you in the forest in the Asian forest property of ours? That's good, I suppose. The open space must feel like heaven to the beast in you.  _Who let the dogs out?_ Someone certainly let you out.  

 _Weirdest thing happened._ Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. We showed Mum and Dad our animagus form when Sirius was here. Dad looked at Sirius's weird bird tattoo (or mark or design, i don't know) and Nix tail and laughed really loud. Then hugged Sirius and welcomed him to the family.  _Then told me that he wasn't getting me a dog as I already found one for life._  Well it is true. Our friendship is for life.  _True, but I felt like I am missing an inside joke. You know what it isn't don't you, Obi Wan?_

Is that going to be his animal name, Obi Wan?  _Nah, it ain't very original, is it? How do you like Sirius's suggestion? Moony. It has a ring to it._ Plus you are always lost in your own world and mooning about this and that. It's perfect.  _Moony also means, according to Misambe (Boo's sister), a man who is handsome and dreamy. That you certainly are._

Eww...since when do you think about guys like that?  _I don't! Misambe saw his picture and said that, you dolt! You were there! Oh right, you were busy restraining yourself from eating their garden. He should have been a cow. That would have suited him more._ Well my animal spirit doesn't agree. So bugger off!

Well for Sirius, Nix suggested Padfoot. His pads are awfully soft and he is very quite on his feet.  _Though I think, he learned  it to avoid his mother. I really hate that woman._ Preaching to the choir, sister!

So Sirius is Padfoot, you are Moony(I am going to call you this unless you wanna change it),  _this nest hair is prongs._ Prongs, like fork.  _Like antlers, dumbass._ Well it certainly is misleading!  _Duh! Your antlers' would be best feature of you. You know, once it manages to defeat your hair._ Nothing can defeat Potter hair, you should that by now, tangled hair. 

 _Any suggestions for me?_ Sirius suggested Feu. _No it sounds like flu._ Flame?  _I gave you prongs and you give me flames. Honestly!_ Zazu.. _Oh..I am not actually opposed to it._ Nah.  _Why?_ Its too edgy. You are not. E _xcuse me! I am very edgy._

Oh Pickachu? _Pika Pika!_  So that's out. _Haw, why?_ You would keep doing that "pika pika'; too annoying.  _Yeah, true. Pika Pika!_ Ugh! There is a Japanese fire goddess name Fuchi. _No Sushi!_  Fushi, you doof. Merlin! Oh how about,  Mushu!! That cartoon dragon. He was red and gold too! _Nope. Mushu has too much shuu._   _I am leaving. You are depressing me with your naming skills._

You have to be kidding me! She is watching 'Powerpuff girls' now. What is she, five? Boo has a niece of 5 years, so they are both watching the cartoons with her. Oh, Buttercup! Huh, I like this one. It doesn't rhyme with anything either! I will ask her later.

Well its fun here, we will be leaving for Morocco soon. I think Boo would be joining us too. He says he missed our shenanigans a lot. Sirius couldn't meet Boo. Boo had messed up dates. So he had meeting with some easily offended Lords.

Sirius thought that Boo and ħelu were two different people. No one denied it, so he took it as confirmation. It was hilarious, everyone joined in on his confusion. I am pretty sure Padfoot believes it. By end, I didn't have the heart to tell him that only we two called ħelu, Boo. More than anymore, Nix. I call him Baba. ħelu means sweet in Maltese language. His family calls him that. We asked if we could call him Sweetu, he flat out refused. Oh Sweetu for Nix. Argghh ..no.

There was also this weird moment, when Sirius was Padfoot and Nix has just transformed back to human form. They were standing besides each other. Misambe, looked sad, and explained that she was really hoping that Nix would be her sister. At this Padfoot got really threatening, like bare teeth and growling. I think it was involuntary.

Honestly, I think if it wasn't for Nix hand in his fur, running soothing circles and restraining him, he would have teared Misambe apart. I wonder what Misambe meant by that. Boo is 3 years older than Nix. She can't be saying what I think she was, can she? Oh, Obi Wan enlighten us!

On lighter note, or heavier depending who you are, G3 would be taking us to meet our other great grandfather. We do that yearly. Our grandfather wanted us to know him, whether to like him or take advisory caution, is still up for debate. G3 isn't very fond of him, you know with him almost destroying the world and all. We two think he is fine, just weird but fine. But then G3 is absolute nuts too. 

How are you anyways? Are you in Belgium? You should totally visit Bruges? It has fascinating magical history. Think of some names for Nix, the rest of us are out of sorts. I am partial to Buttercup or Zazu. Any suggestions?

Love 

James and _Nix_

PS: Keep writing to Sirius this summer, I think his mother will torment him. Its sad that his father refused to let them come along with us. It would have been fun. 

PPS:  _Miss you Rem. Boo says hi! Oh, also I am sending some Uganda special chocolates for you. Tell me if you like any of them. I will bring some more. Maybe we can have chocolate feast or something. Addiju!_

PPPS: We are planning on visiting Diagon Alley on 21 July to get the supplies. Wanna meet then? 

 

Remus loved getting twin's letter. It was like seeing their conversation happening. Knowing them as he did, he could even imagine their facial expressions. He knew what Boo's sister, Misambe, meant. She was hoping that Nix would marry Boo. He can't say he disagreed with her. He would want his brother to be married to her as well. After all, he did want Sirius to marry her.

It looked like seeing Nix symbol on Sirius's dog heart and Sirius form and color all over Nix's animagus form destroyed the sister's hope. He hoped Boo won't create any complications. Sirius had a explosive anger and anything with Nix, it became almost an inferno.  _Whizz_ seems like a good name for Nix. He smiled at the response he was going to get and jotted down a letter.

* * *

Padfoot mate,

How are you? How is it going? Is your mother treating you alright? Dad has asked your father let you stay with us for Christmas break like last time. He has agreed.  _So yay! Do you want me to bring you something from Morocco?_  I was talking.  _When do you ever not?_  

Morocco is gorgeous!! I mean the history, the runes and the muggles here are absolutely fascinating.  _The food is so good. I am sending you some chocolates and their specialty sweets. See which one you want, we will bring them for you. But do you want something else?_

**Sirius, love. How are you? Are you doing okay? Is Reg okay? It's just you haven't written to me in a while. I was getting worried. Honey if you need us to come and get you, we would. We can cut shot our vacation. Just tell me you are all right?**

Mother is right, you know. You had us worried for a while with no responses mate.  _Do you want me to fly over and check up on you? You can tell your mom that a Phoenix had taken a liking to you._

As it is, a Phoenix is fancying you.  _DAD! Don't listen to him. He has been drinking a lot._ Are you telling me that you don't like Sirius? _Or course I like Sirius. What sort of question is this?_ Just confirming, dear.  

You both can write him a separate letter. Stop butting in ours. Go see something. Oh look mother a rune site you have studied yet. Go on. Father go with her.  _Why are you writing this in the letter?_ Er...I forgot we could speak.  _Merlin!_

As you can see my family has lost it, _Jamie clearly has still got it though,_ so please tell me you want us to come and get you. Save me from all the craziness. _And get ready to experience the stag-gering craziness._

Boo and Nix talks have started to go above my head. _That's not true. You make it sound like we speak, uh which language don't we know.... Chinese, yeah...so we don't speak Chinese. You can follow our conversations if you made an effort, you lazy bum._

Nah, daydreaming is more fun than discussing for one hour about why is towel considered dirty when we get out of showers clean?! _We discussed that one time. It's a valid question!_  Really, even the discussion on if two mind readers were reading each other mind, whose mind where they reading. _Don't you think its intriguing?_ Its a mind Nix, not a notebook. Merlin, I thought you knew occulemency!  _Bugger off!_ Oh, Oh the best one, when soap falls on ground is the ground clean or is soap dirty!?!  _Alright, alright topics are weird, but its fun, isn't it?_ Two hours of this discussion was not fun! Two hours of my life that would never come back. Shush...anyways mate, howler if you need us to spring you out.

 _How is your family magic thing going? Prongs here would be starting soon too. I am calling Jamie Prongs._  Prongs after antlers, not fork. _Yes Prongs after antlers, not fork. Do you like Prongs?_  I am his best mate, of course he likes me. _Prongs, go eat some leaves would you?_ That happened once. Let it go.  _But it worked. Mum is asking if you want some food? She could send cookies or something._

We are both learning wandless magic. Its cool! Oh also I have learned a few tricks for the quidditch tryout. Its going to be brilliant, with three of us in the team! Nix is persuading Remus to try for Quidditch commentator position.  _He would be good._ Aye!

Oh, we are going to discover the secrets of castle now that I have the cloak! I was planning this previous year itself but with the transformation and stuff, it got pushed back in my mind. Lets discover all the secrets. What say, ya mate?  _Aye, aye Captain Stag!_

Also think of a animal name for Nix. I like Buttercup and Zazu.  _Yesssss. I like those._ Remus suggested Whizz.  _I am going to whizz him when I see him next, dolt._ Oh he liked the name Moony, so the three of us are set. Just this crazy whizz is left.  _I will NOT respond to whizz._ You just did. _Shove it!_

 _Oh! I just remembered. So Lily wrote to in one of letters asking me if we were planning a school opening prank._ Not a bad thought, actually. Any ideas?  _Not the point of my story telling but valid nonetheless._ What is the point, then?  _Well she said and I quote, ' What are you four marauders doing this time?'._ Marauders as a group name? I like it? What do you think?

Love Prongs ( _Yay!) and Nix,_  

PS: Write soon, eh? Mom is really worried about you and Reg. 

_PPS: We are planning on going to Diagon Alley on 21st July, see that you come around at that time too. Also feed something to Mr Darcy. Stop laughing, Sirius, and feed my  beautiful owl some pie or maybe tart?_

Sirius was laughing at Mr Darcy comment. That name never failed to make him laugh. Trust Nix to name a owl a Mr. So proper. She had shoved him out of his place when he told her that during breakfast in Great Hall. His heart warmed at the obvious concern MaPo had for him and Reg. PaPo's comment about Nix liking him made him feel tingly inside.

Although the frequent comments about Boo and Nix, made the grim in him growl. His sister had wanted her as his sister. Sirius understood the implication and the grim in him wanted to tear Misambe apart for even suggesting to take Nix away from him. If it wasn't for Nix stopping him, he would have scared the day lights out of Misambe. Let her see the freaking grim!

He knew Nix didn't think that way but the way he was raised, his mind did automatic calculations on potential relationship, alliance and future. _She_ was his future, anyone even suggesting to take her away would make his blood boil.

But their was no reason to worry. Nix  hardly ever spoke of ħelu anyways. So clearly she didn't feel that way. She spoke a lot about the elder brother, Boo. Boo was clearly like an elder brother to her. He was too accomplished to be anyone younger. And knowing, Nix, she could have discussion with anyone. He once saw her having a deep conversation with one of the house-elves about life and its meaning. 

He didn't like the name Whizz. Zazu didn't go with her. No offense, she is smart and sassy; but she too cute..er..he means sweet ( _she is very cute too_ ) and caring for her to be a Zazu. Now Buttercup had a nice ring to it. He liked the name Marauders too. It was unique and so them. It fit. He began to pen down his reply to them.

The family magic was going well actually. Right now, dad was only covering general basics of ancient magic and giving him a review about their business and properties. The major focus was on responsibilities, power, duty and expectations that he had to meet as a heir. His major responsibilities was for him to find a suitable partner by the time he turns 15 years of age. As the families normally require couple of years to finalize marriage documents, alliance and all the pureblood crap. 

He didn't need to wait till 15 to find his partner. He already knew her and she was _it_. Father approved it. Sirius, sometimes, thought his father was way more than happy about the alliance because it was Potters. His dad has developed a soft corner for his only friend, Fleamont. (the rest were acquaintances. Dad never saw anyone befitting to the title of friend of Lord Black. Till, of course, Fleamont came gliding along).  His father only cautioned on making sure that the feelings were returned as well. He didn't doubt that.

So that part was done. He would also have a seat in board of directors in Hogwarts, International Confederation of Wizards, Wizengmot, Gringott, among other various magical groups. He had to start studying about these magical groups, their roles and responsibilities,  _his_ role in them. His family was loaded but for a reason. 

Now, the reason why he has't replied much to the Marauders ( _he liked the name_ ) and MaPo was because his _dearest mother_  has absolutely refused to allow any contact with any Gryffindor or Potters. He was only allowed to send his owl out  _once_ a month. She has upped her hexing game too. If you could still call it hexing, it was more dark curses than anything else. Before they were absolutely harmless; but this summer, she was out for blood.

She was absolutely miffed when he refused an outing with only Rosiers. He didn't mind it if Malfoys' were there or the other Black family. But to spend time willingly alone with Gloomy Rosier was like his mother had asked him to date Flinch( _shivers)._  And he told her so. It hadn't ended too pretty.

He didn't think she was pissed because he rejected Rosier, but because he choose Nix. She could murder him and his answer would still be same.

Apparently, Reg has agitated mother as well. He refused her request to join the Pureblood fanatics meetings outright and would not reduce his outings with Potters. ( _Who would prefer this hellhole over heaven that is Potter house? Mother has clearly lost her sense of reasoning_ ) This has lead to her cursing him as well. She would curse and warn him that if he didn't get into Slytherin, unlike his useless brother ( _thank you mother. Being useless has never paid more dividend),_ he would be punished more severely. 

Sirius, personally thought that more than anything else would push Reg to beg the sorting hat to put him in another house ( _Please be a Gryffindor. It would be glorious!)._ Reg had never looked at anyone with so much hatred and defiance as he did at their kindest mother at that moment. Sirius was so proud, that he did a jiggle dance behind his mother's back. ( _He wasn't suicidal!_   _But his brother was showing defiance and grit. He will ruddy well throw a party, if he could get away with it!)_ Reg eyes danced with mirth at Sirius's actions. 

His lovely mother was on a rampage to make Reg see the beauty and wonder of Slytherin by doing things that would do the exact opposite. Like: making Reg meet with the absolute boring and stuck ups of Slytherins house ( _Yuck! But Reg's face as he met his 'future' housemates made it so funny)._ By cursing and hexing him ( _It was official. His dearest mother has truly lost it)._ By badmouthing the Potters at every chance ( _This got a stubborn defiance from both Black brothers. They would fiercely defend the Potters. This increased the amount and intensity of curses. But they didn't care)._   She  _hated the_ Potters with a passion only a Black is capable of. The fact that both her sons were in love with them, more than her ( _can you blame them?_ ) made her see red; and them, so much pain.

But these curses that  _mother_ found out were of dark nature. There were no outwardly marks but it hurt like hell. Both he and Reg were subjected to it, constantly now. Dad didn't know about it; and they both knew telling him would only make it worse. The moment he left them alone with her, they would be in one hell of a pain; no matter how long the period of time has passed. After all, she was their mother. Bloody awful if you ask him, but still a legally legit mother. So they suffered and waited for first September with desperation.

He figured MaPo's mother radar was blaring, if she butted in the twins letter. _He loved that woman!_ He wrote to her a cheerful note. He wrote separate note to the twin and confirmed that he would meet them on 21st July.

He would have to manipulate mother. He thought while he ate chocolates that twins had sent. He liked 7 of them, didn't like 3 at all. He feed them to Mr Darcy and kept rest hidden in case mother decided to starve him to teach any lesson ( _Why she thought that would do any good was anyone's guess)._

Anyhow, Fruity and Tweety, Potter's elves, would bring food regularly to him. MaPo knew what was going on. Reg had told her in one of their last meetings. She was worried but also knew that she couldn't do anything legally for a while. They were both school going children and their family had influence everywhere. So she sent food items, healing potions, bandages and cookies. She would get Reg away for most random reasons. She had promised not to tell the twins after Reg had begged her. He was glad. The twins would have blasted his mother but his position as heir was as it is delicate. When he was proclaimed one, he could hex his mother to oblivion.  

Reg came in his room, looking haggard and sad. Sirius hugged him and gave him chocolate. He showed him Potter's letter. Reg smiled, probably, for the first time since summer started. He looked at Sirius with such hopeful expression that it broke his heart. He nodded and Reg almost collapsed in relief. A day away from  _her_ was a blessing. He needed to manipulate his mother, best to do during dinner when dad was there.

"Dad? I was wondering if we could go to Diagon alley on 21 July. Rosier, Malfoys and the rest of the gang would be there on that day as well.", Sirius asked with straight face. Inside he was desperately praying that his father would agree. He didn't ruddy know if those Slytherins were going to be there on that day; but one word from the heir of the Black family and they would all flock there. They really had no spine or brains. 

Dad looked at him and said conversationally, "Actually that dates fits brilliantly. Your mother and I have to visit our Ireland business and would be gone for 4-5 days. I asked Potters if they would be willing to house you both. They agreed. You would be leaving on 21st and return by 26st July."

Mother looked pissed and spat out,"Why are they to stay with the  _Potters?"_ She had a crazy look. "We have 28 scared pureblood families plus your own brother who would be more than happy to house the two Blacks! Why should they live with mudblood loving idiots!" By end she was screaming with spit flying out of mouth. She looked absolutely crazy. 

"Because I said so."came the calm yet authoritative response of Lord Black, without taking his eyes off his food.

"They are my children. I have a right to decide what and where they will be at all times. They are _mine!_ ", spit out a shrieking Lady Black. ( _Nix was right. His mother did represent a banshee._ )       

"Not more than mine. I _am_ the Lord of the Black house, or have you forgotten, my dear? My commands are absolute and my wishes weigh higher than yours. Or have you forgotten the laws of this scared house, wife.", said Lord Black ( _Sirius didn't really agree with husband and wife being on different levels of power. They were equals. Halves of each other. Like the Potters. But hey, where his dearest mother was concerned, lesser the power, better was the world! So, go dad!_ )

Mother looked sorely put off but nodded. Dad looked satisfied and the boys almost cried with relief. The increased pain of the next few days would be completely worth the reward. 

* * *

Sirius nearly cried in relief when he saw Potters and Remus waiting for them at Madam Malkin's robe shop. He could see twins and Remus there. Remus was leaning against one of the mirrors as he commented on the twins misery, who were getting measured. The twins wore a look of absolute boredom (robe shopping was awfully tedious) and, occasional laugh (from Remus comments); while PaPo was laughing out loud and MaPo was trying her best to hide her mirth. They were his salvation. But he still had a few level of hell to cross before he could reach them. Namely, his dearest mother's iron clad grip on his shoulder. Looking at Reg, he knew the feelings were similar.

MaPo ( _he didn't know how. But every time he entered a room she was in vicinity, she would know it automatically. He supposed it was side effects of raising the twins._ ) looked up, her eyes lit up with love and adoration when she saw the two brothers. She smiled and came to collect the boys. Mother's hand tightened even further. He was sure there was going a hand sized bruise on him. 

"Orion, dear, how are you? You are missed at the dinners. You should come more often. Lady Black, how are you?", MaPo said. (Her eyes were warm when she was talking to dad but with mother, her eyes were hard.)

"Euphemia. I am sorry for being such a terrible friend but between teaching Sirius here about Family magic and handling business, I barely had time to breathe. I will make it up to you." Dad replied with a fond smile. MaPo smiled at him. It looked like mother was going to take part of his shoulder with her or at least break a few bones! He now knew where he got his beater strength.

"I am fine. Thank you for asking. I hope you would take care of my children as is appropriate for children of our stature."  _Mother_ spat out. Orion, Sirius and Reg all looked at her mother with indignation.  _How dare her!_

MaPo simply smiled, her eyes were twinkling. It was uncanny how much like Dumbledore she looked just now. She was smiling as if she knew what was making his mother lose all her proper lady training and behaving like a crazy person. Whatever it was, she was extremely amused by it. His mother wasn't. He couldn't feel blood circulating in his body, anymore. 

Before she could speak, however, Dad spoke up,"Wife dear, Euphemia is excellent at being a mother." (Mother's eyes looked ready to pop out and he could feel an angry rant coming and maybe his shoulder too.) "She is an excellent host and our children love her."(Mother was turning purple. Oh this was going to be bad!) "Euphemia, an absolute pleasure as always. Boys, don't trouble her too much. I will come to pick you up on 27 July. Euphemia, dinner as usual?" 

At MaPo's affirmation, he roughly took his still purple looking mother out of their sight. That was going to be some screaming. He forgot all about her as MaPo warmly, lovingly and _gently_ hugged them. She started to run her fingers through their hair affectionately. 

"Now let me look at you two. How do you guys keep getting thinner and taller? Well its a good thing we are here isn't it, you can buy new robes that you would most definitely need. Are you hungry? Here have some sandwich." The duo took sandwich gratefully and gave her a bright smile, which made her smile grow bigger. "Alright then." She waved her wand and a warm sensation spread through them."Healing charm. Will remove all and every painful curse effects. Do you feel better? Any place still hurting?"

In reply she got bone crushing hugs from her two beautiful, strong boys ( _well they were her boys in everything but blood. Which didn't matter.They were her boys!)_ She let them take as much comfort as they needed from her and ran smoothing circles on their back. After a while, misty eyed boys gave her a million dollar smile. "Come along now. We can enjoy as twins suffer."

"Mom, we are done, right? I still have tagged clothes that you bought me last year. I don't need any more clothes." Nix whined. They couldn't see Sirius and Reg from their position. 

"Well, dear, if you wore your own clothes you would actually need more. But since, you wear Sirius and Jamie's clothes more, maybe they should be taken for shopping." at this the boys groaned. They turned to see Sirius and Reg. With a yell of happiness, the three rushed and gave the duo hugs. Sirius was hugging Nix with almost desperation, which she picked on. They hugged for a good few minutes. She just smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, like his mom does. He smiled. 

He looked and saw PaPo with his arm around Reg; James and Remus smiling happily at him; MaPo looking at them all with affection and love; and Nix besides him, smiling her billion dollar smile. He thought, 'he was, finally, home with his family.' 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ħelu- sweet; addiju-bye (maltese language)  
> So what do you think? I will put Grindleward in one of the next chapter.it would be a flashback. He would be there for a few chapters later on though.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	21. Glimpses of summmer so far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a flashback.of important talks, meeting and/or information.

Pureblood knowledge was something that he has always scoffed at. He never really cared about. The forceful manner in which the etiquette was forced down his throat by his mother has made him even more disdain. But this summer, he learned something that made his heart sing and mind feel peaceful.

One of the topics that father decided to impart knowledge upon was soulmates. He didn't understand why it was so important to learn about soulmates. They were exceedingly less in today's time. This has lead the purebloods to believe that diluting their magical blood was cause of it.  _Idiots._ So his father's insistence on it was a bit out of character. His father didn't waste a single second of his life. After learning about their business expanse and involvement in community, he wasn't really surprised. 

"Sirius, I need you to learn about soulmates.", his father said with amused eye at Sirius's confused look. After reading about it, he understood the importance about knowledge of soulmates.He was elated to know he has met all four of them. Although, elated for one of them might be an exaggeration. He read that there were four types of general soulmates: 

_1)[Healing soul mate ](https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22169/you-have-4-kinds-of-soul-mates-heres-how-to-recognize-each-one.html)_

_These are friends who arrive with intention and provide you with life lessons that clear blocks from your past by mirroring you. Healing soul mates show up by divine timing — exactly when we most need to learn what they have to teach._

_These friends help us learn how to move forward. A healing friendship exists only as long as your purposes are aligned. These types of relationship or friendship escalates fast. This type of friend usually shows up when you are dealing with repetitive patterns and attempting to work through old issues._

MaPo? Definitely. She is his healing soulmate. She has shown him what a mother should be. She loved him almost as much as her children. She didn't hold back on showering him and his brother with her love, care and protection. Like a mother should. Like  _his_ mother should have.

She showed up when they both were desperate for some motherly affection and love. She showed them that it was okay to be themselves. To be proud. To be your own person.

Is their relation only to a point? Maybe it was longevity issue. MaPo and PaPo were certainly old. They didn't make it look that way but they were old. But, she was definitely his soulmate.

_2)[Karmic soul mate](https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22169/you-have-4-kinds-of-soul-mates-heres-how-to-recognize-each-one.html):_

_These people, too, are connected to you through a past life. These connections are deep and karmic, and often painful, as they involve ego struggles. Ego pain must be endured, because it is the point. Working through the relationship and learning to overcome suffering is often the only resolution. In times of intense emotion, you actually feel what they feel. Often, these mates have been reincarnated and are reliving some karma to break a negative cycle._

Yeah, this was definitely his mother. She has come back to earth to torment him till his soul broke down. He certainly felt her emotions when she was pissed. He felt it right to the bones. He wished he didn't have this soulmate. Because ouch! So he had a healing and karmic soulmates. Great! Atleast  _someone_ was healing him.

3) [Past-life soulmate](https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22169/you-have-4-kinds-of-soul-mates-heres-how-to-recognize-each-one.html)

_These relationships feel easy and comfortable. The connection is instant. You might feel like you will be friends forever — no matter how much time passes or how far apart you are geographically . This friendship will likely last for a lifetime because you will never want to run or hide from these friends._

_These relationships can be carefree, but they also shape us. They teach us to trust and believe in ourselves. In this dynamic, both people feel comfortable telling each other anything. Nothing is off limits. You are accepted for who you are._

_These are the friends who help you grow into the person you’re meant to be, and have the special ability to propel you toward your destiny without pain or suffering. Often, we try to turn these relationships romantic, but it is usually impossible. There’s a lack of physical attraction. The  desire to sustain and protect your friendship is strong._

Prongs and Moony. Definitely! Prongs was his friends the instant the hazel eyed boy smiled at his direction. There was deep rooted connection like he knew him forever. He knew that his and Prongs relation won't break. He loved him too much and his friendship was his lifeline at times. There was definitely no physical attraction. That's good. That would have been awkward.

And Moony! That guy kept them in line but he was still comfortable enough to be himself. He knew he would go to any lengths to protect him. He already has. But this friendship was helping him see dark creatures in new light. So he had two of his mates who were his past life soulmates! Neat! That meant the friendship were meant for life. He couldn't be happier to have such amazing blokes as his past-life soulmates!

4) [Twin flames](https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/different-types-of-soul-connections):

 _When we first meet our twin flame, we are amazed, happy and delighted by the parallel life paths, mirrored experiences, shared interests, values, and dreams._ (Nix!) _This type of bond is created by magic herself. Twins are connected though a deep soul bond that can not be disconnected by any type of force._  (Thank Merlin or Magic! His mother would have done everything to destroy their relation. She hated Nix, the most. His mother was most definitely his karmic soulmate. Uggh..) 

 _Their love is so powerful, so potent that eventually, the twins realize that there is nothing that can ever reduce their love or make them apart or change how they feel about each other._ (He was almost doing a celebratory dance. So even if he screws up, she would still love him. That was freeing.) _In fact, their love for each other grows and grows until it can no longer be contained by the two souls; they attain the stage of oneness_ (he wasn't blushing. He wasn't!), _and they become overflowing fountains of love for all humanity and the universe. (_ Screw humanity, he just wanted to be with her.)

 _When either twins part from their other half, they never feel complete with themselves. The Magic, herself, creates situation through which the twin flames can_ _be together.There is no other way to separate them, their soul energy is the other half of one soul._ (Damn straight!) _The intense soul energy that is shared by Twin souls go further than any other relationship._

 _By the ancient laws of magic, it is a crime of greatest degree to try and separate Twin flames from each other. As per ancient magical laws, once the twin flames have attained oneness, they are legally married and bonded for life. No formal ceremony is required. They have been said to produce the most magically gifted off-springs._ (Oh, so ahem...after oneness, he was married to her then, Legally! Excellent!)  

 _I_ _f the soulmates are not of legal age yet, then they are not officially declared married till they reach of age (as per today's laws. But by ancient laws they are married. In case of conflict ancient laws took precedence.). It is advisable to not live together as creating an offspring (which is inevitable in their relationship) at a young age could be detrimental to the reproducing member of the couple. (_ Oh. Umm...brain freeze.) 

 _By old laws, the ancient bond is completed by saying to each other when they are connected in most intimate manner, "I am yours, as you are mine!". The bond is complete and they are bonded and married for life. The moment of completion would be known to the couple by instinct. (_ Did it mean kissing? He wasn't blushing again.) 

 _Twin flames are compelled towards each other. The need to make the other happy is of paramount importance to them. After they have achieved their oneness, they feel what other feels. Even if they are separated and apart from each other, they are bonded no matter what.  You would also feel fiercely protective and love for your mate._  (What does feeling what each other really mean? Like he would know what she is feeling at all times or will he get an inkling of what she were feeling? Like a foreboding?)

 _Soulmates have an easier time of accepting, even learning to love, each other’s imperfections._ (He didn't think there were any imperfections in her! She was perfect the way she was. Oh, maybe that's what it meant? Wait, did she found him perfect too? oh...)

 _Regardless of the gender of your partner, he or she will always make you feel secure and protected._   _Your soulmate will make you feel like you have a guardian angel by your side._  (That is certainly true. He feels so safe, secure, content and happy with her. It feels like he can take over the world with her by his side.)

 _The soulmates bonds strength vary from couple to couple. The stronger the strength, lesser would you be interested in other members of your attracted gender. It means that if your bond is strong, then you would not be at all attracted to anyone else._ (He thinks he is young to judge the strength. But it has to be strong enough. Apart from Lily, Marlene and his relatives, he hasn't been able to even tolerate any other females, ever.) _There is a caution to this bond though, should one of the mates die after bonding, the other half would be unable to bond with anyone else. They would live a life full of misery and suffering. (_ He didn't want to think about that.)

 _When soulmates achieve oneness their magic is bonded and if need arises, they can draw from each other's energies (distance doesn't matter)._  (That was good, as it meant that if Nix was in danger. She could energy from him. Good, that was good.)

 _Any threat to their soulmate or their relationship, would cause a rage to take over which can only be held back by the soulmate itself._ (Ah! That explained the Misambe incident!).  _The love and need to be with each other doesn't decrease with age. Finding soulmates is rare in today's age, if you have, cherish it! (_ He was glad that he had. He was more glad that it was Nix.)

He knew he was made for her, in same way she was made for him. They were bound to be together in the end.  _That_ had him smiling like an idiot for a whole week. It had pissed his mother off that even after hexing the crap out of Sirius, his smile won't dim. It was great to piss her off without saying anything; although, the pain made it difficult to sleep at night. But the knowledge that he would end up with Nix was enough to get him through. 

* * *

 

"Now, I know you have read about the soulmates. By your bouncing on your feet and your maniacal smile, I get that you are way too happy about it?" At Sirius's excited nod, Orion chuckled. Ruffling his hair continued, "Now all is well and good about the bond and togetherness. But you need to understand the implications."

"By admitting to your soul bond, you would have a definite mark of her on your body. The closer to the heart the mark is, the stronger is your bond. Now the mark will appear after you become bonded or married. Another thing you should be sure about is if you want to have experience before you get bonded. You should communicate with her freely. She might want to try with other guys first as well. _(Sirius almost growled at that. It was impressive)_  Once you are bonded, it would only be her; and for her it would be only you." Sirius looked happy by that. He actually reminded Orion of an excited puppy.

"This ancient magic can be felt by powerful witches and wizards, so be careful. They can use either of you to get something from the other. I wholeheartedly accept your relation with that bright girl and so does, Fleamont and Euphemia. I don't think James will have an issue with you being his brother-in-law. I know Reg already loves her like an elder sister. Now, your mother is inconsequential in this decision. After marriage, she will live here, have access to accounts and properties. She will be the future Lady Black. She will be great...You don't look happy. What is it?"

"She won't be happy living here." Sirius said in a quite voice as he was looking intently at the house, as if seeing for the first time. He was frowning at whatever he saw.

"Why?", Orion asked concerned. He knew that if his soulmate was not happy here, there was no way Sirius would stay here. _At all_. The happiness of the soul mate took precedence. It wasn't something, Sirius could not quell down, even if he wanted.Sirius started to list out the problems.

"Its too dark. All indoors. They have such a beautiful home, with light pouring in everywhere, and homely modern furniture. Her room (at this Orion raised his eyebrows) has an enchanted roof which shows the sky, like Hogwarts. She is mostly outdoor when we are home . They have a quidditch pitch, a forest, a big swimming pool, they even have river that goes through their property. She is never inside. She says she feels happier outdoor. At peace around water."

This made Orion's eyebrows rise even higher. Not her house. Their  _home. Hmm. He hasn't heard Sirius or Reg call this house their home for a long time. They have been very subdued this summer. He could have sworn that they ran away from Walburga. What was he missing?_  

"We don't have that. Its all dark here. The house is old and ancient. The interiors here look more suitable for a museum than a home. We don't have any outdoorsy area. We can't even get a pool here. She would be miserable here.I want her happy and smiling. After bonding, we won't live here. We will take another property and live there." Sirius answered determined.

This won't do. The heir of the house cannot live somewhere else. Orion would do everything to keep his son with him. What would he do with a big house alone with Walburga? He wasn't delusional, he knew if Sirius left so would Reg. Especially if it meant living with the Potters.

"Let's say, we want her to be happy and smiling here. What exactly would you like to change?" Orion asked while he discretely waved his wand. The notepad and quill started to jot down points.

"Well more light definitely. Brighter colors but calming colors. More modern furniture. Not fancy, more comfy. She likes muggle technologies, so a ward that doesn't destroy them straight out. A garden, preferably a quidditch pitch. A place just for her, preferably outdoors. A swimming pool. A well lit house. Removal of the elf heads and creature heads. She is pro creatures. It would distress her, for sure. A better kitchen definitely. Although I would be the one cooking but she likes to help. Although, her dream house is somewhere near water." Sirius stated few other things about how big her room at the Potter Manor was; things he knew she would like, he would like; things about her home that they both loved. 

Orion took careful notes. Now the house redecoration was not an issue at all. He had been thinking about it anyways. And keeping future Lady Black happy was important. He did want Nix to feel happy here.

Outdoors...that was going to an issue. They lived in the  heart of London, getting land for outdoor was going to be an issue. Also Thames was a bit farther away. He had to think about these things. Looking around, he saw how right his son was, the house was awfully dull and museum like. 

* * *

Today was the day! The day he waits for a whole year. Today is the day his great grandchildren were going to visit him along with  _him_. Euphemia used to come along but has stopped a while ago. He wasn't sure why. At beginning he thought it was probably the only day she got free of her mischievous twins. Raising a child is hard enough but to raise twins at her age, must have been exhausting. But now, he didn't know.

Al was right that he wanted to destroy the world as we know it and create a new world where the muggles were ruled by the wizards. He still stood by it. It was for the 'greater good'. Al believed it too, till that fateful night, his sister got killed. It was a miracle that Adrian hadn't been hurt. He was two year at that time. 

As far as break ups go, it has to be the most awful ones. Andrian had visited him often, but he always got a feeling it was to make sure he didn't end up like him. Andrian had made a request that Euphemia meet her other grandfather and let's her kids meet him too. Euphemia had been very wary of him, no wonder subjected to rants of Al. He could rant when he was pissed. It was lucky that happened for very rare topics. 

Twins had been a breath of fresh air. They were sweet, smart, funny and didn't treat him like a duty to be fulfilled. He thought they might actually like him. He had to give it to Al, he doesn't shove his opinion on the children. He lets them decide their path. He sure guides them but he lets them make their own decisions.

Twins were bright and extremely powerful. He was ashamed to think that at twins' magical power display at mere age of 2, his eyes had glittered with greed for power. Alas! Since then Al's disdain for him has gotten bigger. He had shortened the visits since then. It used to be quaterly, now it's only once a year and that too for an hour. The length of time have grown since then but it wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough.

AL was wrong about one thing. He didn't pressure Al at that time to produce a child because he wanted to secure himself from his wrath later on. He truly believed at that time they would rule together. He did it because he believed that their offspring bloodline would be incredibly powerful. 

He wasn't wrong. Adrian was one of the best medi-witch to be ever born. He had patented so many cures and diseases of both magical and muggle world during his short life span. Euphemia was the prominent ancient runes expert and cultural expert. The twins were, he would bet, going to be almost as powerful as Al. 

He looked at rising sun and remembering  _that night_  as clearly as if it happened yesterday, instead of 6 years ago. That was the night he was for the first time, truly terrified of Al.

He has been looking at the full moon. The twins had just left few days prior but their laugh still rang in his ears. He smiled. Then doors of his prison burst open. Storming in came, Al. His eyes were hard, there was no twinkle in them; his mouth was pressed thin; eyebrows furrowed in absolute frustration, concern and haplessness; his eyes also looked guilty.

He was furious and raging. He has never seen him like this. And he had seen him at his worst time too. He saw the prison guard run away.  _How valiant!_ But looking at Al, he didn't fault them either. He was sure this was the night he dies. He was worried, not for himself. It would be peaceful death if he was killed by love of his life.

The last time he looked this sad and worried, Adrian had died of dragon pox, with Euphemia just 10 years old. He wondered if Euphemia was ill. What would happen to the twins? But then what he said made the world underneath him slip. 

Yes, he was evil. But he always knew that his family was safe. Al would see to it. That's why he never attacked British. No point in disturbing Adrian's primitive years and destroying his home. It would have ended everything earlier than needed.

"What did you do? Did you curse Nix when she was here? Did you curse my great grand daughter? Is this your way of taking revenge? Attacking a five year old?" He was stunned. Nix! Wait, what?  _Cursed!_ It had to be serious for Al to look so out of it. "Well congrats because she is on her death bed!" Al spat out.

He fell down on the ground. That bright, happy little girl, who always hugged him and gave him kisses. She was on her death bed.  _Death bed._ He was prepared for Euphemia but  _Nix?_  He looked at Al with horror, shock and pain. That is what seemed to have convinced Al that it wasn't him who cursed his great grandchild. He sat down on his rot and started to cry in earnest. 

Grindelward knew Al didn't cry when Ariana was killed or when Adrian died; but he was breaking down over his great granddaughter. Grindelward knew that Al had a soft spot for her, for  _them._  He could tell by how his eyes would light up like a Christmas tree whenever they were around him.  _James_! Oh Merlin! If she did die, what would have happened to the bright beautiful boy of theirs.

He placed a hesitant hand on Al's shoulder. Al didn't rebuff. That's how  _he_ knew that whatever it was, Al didn't have hope of her recovering. That filled him with dread. Despite popular belief, he loved his family fiercely. 

"Al, what happened? What curse? How dark? Was it one of my haters?  _My followers?"_  Grindelward looked horrified at the last thought. "If it was, let me out for a night, I would torture them till death comes begging. Tell me who hurt her, I will make them all bleed!" came the chilling, calm voice of the old Dark Lord.

"Sh..She was..wasn't cursed by a follower. She..She was cursed by an am..amulet. A  _deathly hallows amulet!_  Tell me you know the cure. Please? Please..."came the sobbing reply of Al

"Deathly hallow amulet?  _Deathly hallows?_ How? How did she even...what happened? Tell me exactly!", came the commanding yet soothing voice of Grindelward. 

He sat down as Al explained everything, even things no one saw or understood. The magic, his hypothesis, Nix, her condition, James and how he could see everything that was happening, and how she was, now, in comatose. He listened and thought hard about it. 

"You know it. You just don't want to believe it." Grindelward said to a shaking Al.

"No. No. NO. Please, she is too young! She is a child! She is too young...No!!! There has to be another explanation. There needs to be!" pleaded AL

"You know there isn't. You know the old legend of the hallows. The one which we found after extreme search. You know that what has happened."

Al continued to shake his head and chanting 'no' as if it would stop this. Grindelward shook him hard and looked him in the eye and said with determination,

"You need to protect her. You know that  _Death_  himself has chosen her. The fact that you could see what was happening to him while to others, it was just some invisible force, means Death wants you as her chaperone. You need to help her Al. If I am not wrong, then she has been given the abities to change the world for better. Magic herself had deemed it necessary. She has been chosen to lead us to a better, brighter future. You can bet her path won't be easy. But you need to be her pillor. Not just her's but others too."

_"When the magic is on verge of extinction or when countless innocents lives have been taken away unjustified, Death would select it's Champion. To change the world as we know. Death would give his champion gifts and help where needed. There would a guardian selected and people who would help the champion succeed. But the champion would have to travel a difficult path. The magic would decide when the champion is selected and when Death's various gifts would be revealed to the champion. The success of champion is essential for the future of magic itself."_

"James able to see the magic must be because they are twins. So they will always remain magically connected. You know that! Its good she will have support. The Magic herself will provide her with help. As you said, she is young and magic is not cruel. But you have to help her, you know you do. Come on Al. Use the big brains of your and keep faith. She will come through. I know she will."

Al looked at him for first time since then like Gill, not Grindelward. He smiled, hugged him. "Go back to them, Al. They need you. Euphemia must be losing her mind. The magic has to run its course. She will come back once she is fit enough to handle whatever it is. It needs to be kept quite though. She will need to heal away from everyone. Take her to Uganda. Its ancient magic will help her heal. Go."

The doors opened and he got back from his thoughts when he saw the  _cursed child_ walk in, all grown up and happy towards him and hugged him. 

"Hey other  _pradyado!_ _Zdrasti_!" twins said together. He smiled brightly and gave them a hug.

"Hello to you, beautiful people.  _Zdrasti_  indeed. So tell me everything about the esteemed school of your G3. Do you like? How are the studies? Did you cause his few more hair to turn even more silver?" he asked them affectionately. He almost paused at the happy look on Al face. It has been a while since he saw him this happy.

The twins launched on the various subjects, teachers, their pranks, their housemates, the castle, their friends with gusto. He was amused to see how Nix would literally light up while talking about Sirius or Padfoot as they call him now. He looked at Al then. Al has become very protective of  her since the accident, even of little boys. He was smiling brightly and knowingly. 

He looked him, discretely, questioningly to which he replied with head tilt and placed his hand on his heart. Oh.  _Oh!_ A  _Soulmate!_  His brilliant great granddaughter has already discovered her soulmate. That was brilliant. He was so happy for her that he hugged her in middle of the twins story telling. She hugged him back. He then went to hug James, who hugged him back too.

His day was spent very pleasantly with playing chess with James while Nix chatted his ears out. Then playing exploding snap and to surprise of all, their G3 joined too. He watched them go with regret in his eyes. This could have been his life everyday, if he hadn't followed his dream. But his dream was important. 

He had noticed Nix look at him in question and then smiled brightly. Al looked curious but didn't say anything; and James distracted him with chess. He also noticed that James would talk about certain Lily a lot and Nix would snicker. They were making a lot of animal puns to. Al has been smiling a lot too, it meant things were getting better.

* * *

The day had been pleasant but she had one vision. She decided to tell James as well. It wasn't drastic and nothing to with the rest she saw. It might actually help G3 move forward and forgive himself and  _pradyado._

"I saw something when we visited  _pradyado._ Voldemort decided to get  _pradyado's_ wand for some reason. P _radyado_ denied him and told him that he would never be able to win. Voldemort killed him, there and then. But he resisted G3! He won't tell him where the wand was even under torture." Nix smiled brightly at G3, who looked pensive. The two nodded and left it alone. G3 was still sensitive to anything  _pradyado._

James had once asked G3 why he never dated or was in a relationship. His answer confused him, "I can't be in a relationship with anyone else, Jamie." 

"But, why? I get you loved  _pradyado_ but you are allowed to be happy G3. So what try to find a better relationship?", James asked his 120 nearing G3. 

G3 chuckled,"No my dear, I can't even if I want too. And who says I am sad?" 

"We were watching this show which said that if you don't have a romantic relationship, you are sad and lonely." James looked confused." You have never been in one. I don't want to be sad or lonely, G3."

G3 gave him a big hug and said warmly," You are never alone when you have kids! Grand kids and great grand kids." 

"If you ever feel lonely, you should totally come here. Nix will sing, I will braid your hair, maybe your beard too; and then we will have slumber party and movie marathon."James finished excitedly. G3 has never been more thankful for having a child than he was right now. He has taken up on James's offer a lot of times. The slumber parties were fun with his great grand kids.

Albus didn't know how to tell the kids that he had soulmate bonded with Grindelwald. It wasn't as strong as Nix already had with Sirius, but he was still bonded. Plus, he didn't think he could ever have a relationship. He was happy nurturing kids and making the future better. His love life didn't really matter when he saw the twins smile brightly at him. He was truly lucky to have a family that loved him so much, unconditionally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The word highlighted are links to sites from where i have taken soulmate matters a bit. It has been modified.  
> pradyado - great grandfather; zdrati-hello - in bulgarian. Grindelwald was Bulgarian.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	22. Big brother

Reg needed to stop being so surprised at his brother's mature and logical side. His brother was usually such a goof ball that he, often, forgot that his brother was probably the smartest and brilliant wizard of all time. Reg still remembered how Sirius created havoc in the first pureblood summer meeting within few minutes. His mother had dragged them to the meeting to meet proper purebloods after he came back from Hogwarts. As a heir, according to her, he needed to know real values and opinions, not convoluted ones some idiots sprouted. She certainly regretted taking him there. 

"The purebloods want the magical world to only consist of purebloods, right?", Asked a bored Sirius to Lord Carrow. Lord Carrow asked him about his opinion on Lord Voldemort and his agenda as the new generation of purebloods and future Lord Black.

His mother looked shocked at Sirius's question, then smiled (her smile made something curl inside him.) "Yes. We want only purebloods to be in the magical world. The rest are garbage and should be removed." Mother said with conviction. The others nodded. Sirius nodded and still looking bored, he continued. 

"But you still want to be the royalty? The best? The sacred?" Sirius asked impassively.

"Yes!",mother said in her version of 'duh' tone.

"If everyone is pureblood and sacred. Then what is special about us? Yeah, we have more money but after a while someone else will come who would be richer. So we will be common. A normal wizarding family. Is that what you desire?" Sirius asked with a deadpanned expression. Reg wondered if bored Sirius Black was more dangerous than anything else. It looked like it was going to be deja vu of last Christmas Black Family dinner. 

Mother eyes were big and he could see the rest of them looking shocked. Dad looked amused and proud. Dad leaned back on his chair and watched the whole conversation with a posture that was just missing some popcorn to be complete.

"That..that is certainly an interesting opinion."said a stammering Lord Carrow.

"It's very logical, my Lord. If everyone is pureblood, then they are all sacred. Then, what is special about us or even  _important_  about us and our blood status?" Asked a calm Sirius.  _Yep, a calm and bored Sirius was the most dangerous._

 _"_ We are special and important. We don't need to tell anyone that! You insolent child!", shrieked his mother

"Mother, there is no reason to be so undignified in a social gathering like this. We are special because we are purebloods and rich. But, wealth is momentary and fickle. Today, we are rich and powerful, yes. But tomorrow that might not be the case at all. Then what is special about us? What separates these great families from other mediocre and lesser pureblood families?"

Reg stifled a smile and tried to keep an impassive face at the gobsmacked face of all the elder and  _knowledgeable_ people in the room. They looked appalled by the statement but had a begrudging look as well, as if they were having internal battle denying Sirius's word of wisdom and losing to it. He never thought he would ever say Sirius and wisdom in the same sentence.

"Well, Lord Voldemort will set the world straight. He will promote the talented and pure; and punish the rest. He will make the magical world as it was supposed to be.", came the sickly sweet voice of Bella, who was looking at Sirius with murder in her eyes.

Sirius turned his grey piercing eyes on Bella and with calmness, he asked her patiently as if speaking to a wayward child,"Lovely cousin, did he tell you his plan for changing the world? How exactly will he do something when he is himself a nobody?"

Bella's vein on her head was throbbing dangerously and if looks could kill, Sirius would be ash by now. "He is the Heir of Slytherin and the a very powerful wizard. He has a plan that he hasn't shared with anyone. He is not a  _nobody_ , he is LORD VOLDEMORT! The greatest wizard to be alive! Dark Lord is amazing in his talents and knowledge of magic. He is ambitious and wants to right the wizarding world. He wants to punish and remove all the filth who stole our magic!" Bella finished praising Lord Voldemort..no, Lump ( _Nix get out of my head!_ ). Sirius looked so bored when Bella started her accolade of Lump.  _Damn it, Nix._

Sirius drawled out,"Did you get proof of his heritage, then? His claim of being the heir of Slytherin? His house? His family? His blood status? His _name_?"

Bella floundered,"I...I..umm....I know he is from Slytherin and he is talented and....."

At Sirius's 'shut up before you make a greater fool of yourself', she shut up abruptly. 

"So we are back to where we were during last Christmas. You don't know his house, family, his actual  _name_? Not the nonsense  _Lord Voldemort._ But, you believe his claim as heir to Slytherin. Slytherin bloodline has been long dead since Graunts' got extinct. If you are saying that he is a heir to Slytherin, then he is from his mother's side, because her brother died childless, we all know that. But if she had married into some pureblood family, we would have known about it. We are, after all, related to one another in some way. So she married a muggle and has a half blood. So this Lordy character is at best a half-blood or, more likely, a bloody liar."

"You don't know that.."Bella tried to intervene but, again, Sirius calm voice and brutal logic stampeded all over her logic.  

"You said he was ambitious and a Slytherin. In Slytherin, we all know there is a hierarchy inside the house. If you are a half blood or, Merlin forbid, muggleborn, you are at bottom of the hierarchy, unless of course you prove to be extremely magically talented. But he would have picked up on the growing dissent among the top hierarchy regarding the muggleborns and half-bloods. So he simply picked that as his agenda to climb the ladder and further his position to gain power." 

"You told us last time that he didn't even have a Gringotts' account. Which means he is a definitely a muggle born or at most a very poor half blood. He is using your hatred and ignorance towards muggle-borns to be  _The Lord_  over the most powerful families of Britain wizarding world. Plus he gets to Lord you all around like his servants, take your money, have a social standing above us all and live in our homes. It's the best scam I have heard of! And you are all falling for his charismatic words, but he hasn't even shared his plan about his version of magical world. 'To make it better' is not a plan. Have we fallen this far to blindly follow a  _muggleborn_?"

"My lovely cousin, your disturbing fascination with that bloke, despite being betrothed to Rudolph here, is very admirable. But maybe you need to start thinking about family's position and standing in the wizarding world at large. This is the legacy you all want to leave behind. That of scared families would follow anyone with no claims, power and prestige? Do you want all the  _sacred_ and powerful purebloods to follow a muggle born or half blood in his rampage against the magical world?  _Our_ world _?", Sirius_  question Bella calmly with a hint of incredulity.

Lord Flint asked in an almost accusing tone to Bella,"Is that true? This Lord has no money, power or legitimacy? And he is leading us on a war path?"

"He wants to change the world. He is brilliant. You should see him perform magic. He is even better than Grindelwald!" Bella exclaimed, almost desperately.

Sirius snorted,"Better than Grindelwald?  _Grindelwald_? He was responsible for horror and destruction against 15 and more nation's simultaneously. What has your Lord, done? Honestly, how would  _you_ know if he is better? Were you there when Grindelwald fought and terrorized the world at large? Everyone who followed or supported him is now called a terrorist. It took us  _years_ to again have a respectable standing in the wizarding community. We need to learn from the history, not follow it repeatedly hoping for a different result."

"You want to follow this coward, who doesn't even have guts to say his own name, into war where we will fail? You want to know why because you are betting that one guy, one unknown bloke, would win against thousands who would rise against him?"

"You know people who want our power, social status and position would pounce on a chance to dethrone us at slightest provocation. We are standing on thin ice, as it is. They would use this alliance and support for a nobody to label us all worse than dark creatures. Is that the future that you envision for us, my cunning cousin?" Sirius sarcastically asked her.

The Lords' were all looking at each other face and looked worried. Bella was fuming as was Walburga; Orion and Reg were trying to control their laughter at the faces Lord's were making. It was funny but also disturbing that the people who called themselves cunning and smart, haven't even thought these basic things before following a fool in his quest for power.

Then Lord Bulstrode spoke in his heavy baritone,"But his agenda is right. The muggleborns and half bloods have destroyed our culture and tradition with their muggleness. How exactly are supposed to let the old wizarding ways die?" 

Bella nodded enthusiastically and was about to say something after 'Dark Lord...' when Sirius looked at them 'siriusly' and left the rest reeling with logic as he answered in a level tone. He looked as if giving a lecture (was he channeling Dumbledore),

"Lord Bolstrode, you and all the rest of you have influence and power in the ministry. Use that to introduce bills that safeguard certain wizarding ways. You accuse muggleborns to be not wizard enough, when we don't give them anything to go by before they are thrust into this world suddenly. Do anyone of you know what a telephone is?"

At their headshakes, he continued with pensive look,"It is a muggle way of head floo talk connection system. They can talk to anyone who has that connection at any instant. They have a few restrictions but I am sure they would overcome it soon enough..."

"Why are you telling us about muggle things? Why do you know so much about them? You preach about being pureblood when you are in bed with blood traitors, half bloods and mudbloods!", seethed Bella

Sirius calmness was pissing off Bella, just like during Christmas dinner. It was hilarious to see Bella try to make Sirius loose his shit, only to be the one to fall on her ass every time. She really doesn't learn, does she?

"My point is, we would be utterly at loss in the muggle world despite knowing that it exists. Whereas muggleborns don't have a clue that this world exists till they turn 11 years old. Yet, you expect them to be well versed in everything about wizard culture. That is preposterous! What you need to do is introduce wizarding culture and tradition as educational subject in the schools from first year on wards. Making it a subject in 3rd year is too late. Most of you are on Hogwarts board, you can do this."

"Instead of trying to suppress them, make then our own." Scoffs were heard around the table. "How many great and powerful wizards have tried to suppress them? How many succeeded? The answer is none! Why? Because we are minority and we have no supporters in the wizarding public. They all hate us because we treat the rest of them like piece of dirt. If they all decided, suddenly, that we were all to be imprisoned, no one would lift a finger to defend or support us. We have isolated ourselves so much that no one wants to be associated with us anymore." 

"Just us, mind you. They all love the Potters, Weasleys, Prewetts, Bones, Longbottoms, Abbott, Kingsley, Greenways, and the rest of the  _liberal_ purebloods. The Potters, Longbottoms and these families, have as much wealth as us and their social standing is at par with ours. You can bet your ass that if something were to happen to them, the whole wizarding world would rally against the offending party without a moment's delay." 

"The objective should not be to tell them at every turn that we are superior or better than them. They all know that they are not above us. That we, purebloods, are. I know. I actually talk to other people. What we need to do is show these people that  _we_ are the leaders of the world, not destroyer. Make them see this group as the people leading the charge for betterment of society as a whole and you would rule without lifting a finger."

"Why do you want to force them into something. It would never work. It clearly hasn't till now. So why not change your approach. Increase your businesses and power in ministry. Make the muggles and half blood realize that pureblood are better than them but are one of them. Isn't that what you want to achieve? Superiority? Where is the cunningness and brains of Slytherins, you all keep on prattling about?"

More than half the table sat straight at that. They looked indignant at being told off so logically and calmly by a 12 year old kid. Reg loved whenever this side of Sirius came in fore, it always blindsided everyone. Reg could see several of the Lords' looking pensive and thoughtful. Sirius, then, dealt the final blow,

"Till now, I have to say I am not very impressed by your ignorance and arrogance. Are the most powerful, old and pure houses, so desperate that they want to follow anybody who says that he would give them power? We already yield impressive amount of power and influence. Can you imagine, what a joke we all would be when it comes out that the conservative pureblood Lords have been following a fraud? The very thing they hate? That they have don't even possess enough brain cells or common sense to check the guy's credentials before following him? Can you imagine the shame that Slytherins all over will feel at that?",Sirius finished. Reg could see that the Lords have gotten the message 'You all so dumb. Don't make a fool out of yourself following a nobody.'.

Sirius was pardoned from all the rest of the meeting as punishment so being so insolent and disrespectful to wishes of their forefathers, by his mother. His insolent brother was more than happy to be pardoned. Later sometime, Dad came to tell Sirius that they have taken his suggestion and were introducing Wizarding culture and laws as a core subject starting from first year. After OWLs, they all will have an option of continuing it and pursue it to become wizarding lawyers. Sirius whooped excitedly and hugged his father. Mother used a very painful curse on Sirius that day. Life really was hell in their  _home. H_ _e_ _missed the Potters!_  

* * *

The friendship, the care and the  _love_ that was given freely at the Potter Manor was not something that Reg would ever take for granted. He loved it here. No one got hexed or cursed. There was no tiptoeing here. Everything and everyone was loud, happy and cheerful, even the army of humming house elves. He was so thankful to Sirius for befriending such lovely humans.

Not a lot of people associated their friend's house as a safe haven. But then, not all of them had his mother. Reg knew that Potters didn't care for them because they were Black, but despite the fact. They cared for them because they liked  _them_ and wanted to ensure their happiness and well-being. They didn't want a favor, a monetary or social benefit, a leverage, or something to brag about. They had simply decided to care for them, so they did. This type of kindness was unheard of, in the life that he grew up with. Here, love was given to everyone so freely, as if it was a necessity. It was. He just didn't realize it till he tumbled into this amazing family's life.

They showed their care in small daily actions of care and love. MaPo must have known that both the brothers needed some physical affirmation of being safe and secure. Because PaPo had conjured a huge bed, on their first day back at Manor, in the fun-tastic ovaly room (don't blame him, they name it such. It has a name tag on the door and everything), and declared that today everyone was going to sleep in same bed. PaPo slept between Nix and James. Nix was next Sirius and MaPo slept between Sirius and Reg (a hand around each of them; hugging them close). If the brothers got a bit misty eyes at the warmth, security and motherness this woman projected, no one said anything.

It was the best sleep he had in a while. He got up to see MaPo and PaPo were not in the bed. They were probably up and about. They were early riser, after all. James was sleeping in diagonally on his side of bed with face near Nix and legs dangling out. Drool was dripping slightly from his mouth. Sirius had enveloped Nix in a protective sort of hug  with her head tugged safely underneath his chin; while Nix had her arms around him. It was intriguing that there was a small smile on his brother's face. He brushed it off and got up to help MaPo. 

He was in pool the later sometime, when he noticed that Sirius had his eyes focused on Nix with another small smile lighting his face. It felt like he was solely happy that she was there near him. He had noticed this about Sirius before as well, but this time around it was enhanced for some reason. Sirius always had a smile and happiness radiating out of his eyes when Nix was around or near him. Hell, he would smile involuntarily, if he even heard her name. His brother was a nut case. It was a family trait after all.

He supposed this behavior of his brother was enhanced, especially after the summer they have been subjected to. He had seen his brother remain stoic and pissed off when mother would get Bloom Rosier to spend time with her sons. His mother said that the boys needed to know proper ladies. Not disillusioned and ill-mannered mudblood loving one. Bloom puffed her chest and looked extremely smug. Sirius looked ready to rip them both apart with his bare hands.

Bloom was a pretty proper girl, but she whined a lot and was a tad bit slow. She was never interested in anything outdoorsy or anything fun. Always going on about how it wasn't proper. His brother had name her Gloom. Once Reg accidentally called Bloom, Gloom while they were having family dinner with the Rosier's. Sirius had snickered and mother had turned purple; Gloom...ahem..Bloom looked disheartened at that. He did feel guilty, although he blames his brother for the slip. Then, mother proceeded to rant how spending time with those imbeciles mudblood lovers was corrupting her perfect sons. Both Blacks brothers were pissed off but father changed the topic and gave his mother a warning look.

Gloom would talk at Sirius (Sirius never replied or even looked at her.) and try to engage him in some sort of activity, with no effect. She would wear extremely pretty dress or robes and Sirius would not bat an eye. She would whine and Sirius would avoid her advances harder. He barely noticed her. Dad was awfully happy about it for some reason. Honestly, they needed to tell him someday what was going on! It was annoying to be in the dark. His mother seemed to share his sentiment.

She once asked Sirius if he was gay since he barely paid attention to any girl. Dad had snorted, which earned him a stink eye from mother. She wasn't wrong. Mother had invited almost all the 28 sacred families for dinner, and most of them were girls of Sirius's age. Sirius hardly spoke to anyone. But that might be because Rosier was trying to monopolize Sirius's time. Not with any success. His disinterest in girls had the whole place buzzing for some reason.

Sirius looked her in the eye and said, "If you keep subjecting me to this, I might consider being one." Rosier looked highly indignant; Sirius looked unperturbed; dad highly amused; and Mother vexed.

Sirius never had any issue or even a frown when he was with Nix. He had seen Sirius being affectionate, open, happy and, overall, wonderful to her. He sought her out and would listen with rapt attention to whatever she spoke. He loved making her happy and just about engaging in any sort of activity with her. Maybe it was that Bloom was too gloom. But then again, no girl could hold a candle to the blazing fire that Nix was. He wasn't really surprised at Sirius disinterest at mediocre girls when he was friends with the most fascinating one.

The elder Potters would snicker or stifle a laugh whenever Sirius acted like an excited puppy, mostly around Nix. His brother and James have taken over breakfast duty which no one objected to. They were both amazing cooks and would cook incredibly delicious food. When one morning, Sirius cooked waffles and some omelettes, perfectly done, Nix gave him a smacking kiss on cheek. Sirius blushed and had happiness radiating out of him like waves. MaPo and PaPo looked like they were choking back a laugh. Sirius caught PaPo's eyes and went tomato red in face at his pointed look.

Reg was looking at a bird preached singing softy on a tree from his position in pool. He was so happy that he was finally going off to Hogwarts. He would be away from the horror that is his mother. The only worry he had was that if he got selected in Slytherin, his brother might hate him. He didn't want that.

He must have been thinking too hard because suddenly James was almost in his face with waggling eyebrows. He laughed out his surprise. He was ridiculous.  _They_ were ridiculous. He wouldn't want it any other way.

"What got you thinking so much, Olaf?", Asked a smiley James. Olaf has been something that Sirius has started to call him after watching  _Frozen,_ a muggle movie. James has picked on that and refused to call him anything else. Nix was nicer and called him Reg. 

"Nothing. Just thinking about Hogwarts." Reg replied evasively. He didn't want his brother to find out. He looked around to see Sirius and Nix at other end of the long pool, discussing their first prank of the year.

"You are worried about your house. More than that, about Sirius's reaction to it? What Sirius would be like if you get sorted into any other house?",whispered James quietly.

Reg didn't notice the other two stiffened. With their enhanced hearing they could everything loud and clear. But they pretended to still have a discussion. They have always been good at multitasking. It was fairly handy.

Reg looked at James. How the twins knew about every other person's dilemma was something he would never venture to guess. He figured it was Dumbledore effect. He was often told back at house that Dumbledore somehow knew everything. 

"Yeah. What if he hates me? If I am a Slytherin, he would hate me. Mother would love me. I don't know which is worse." He said worriedly. He glanced at Sirius and saw that they were both still deep in their conversation. 

"If you are worried about Sirius, don't. He would still love you. Just as Nix and I would have if we were in separate houses. Houses don't define you, Reg. It's your actions. You could be Hufflepuff and be the smartest and bravest of them all. The house just highlights your major qualities. You never know when your minor quality can become life defining." James replied sagely 

He continued,"G3 always says that we all possess qualities of all four houses. Just in what capacity, is the question. He would still love you. You are his brother. If you didn't stop loving him when he became a Gryffindor, why would be stop if you became a Slytherin? Neither will we, in case you are wondering." He smiled at him.

"Having said that, mate, Slytherins are dull. I mean so stuffy. So if you do end up going to that house, we would pity you more. I mean you would become a stuffy old man at a mere age of 11. Now that is tragic!" James finished with laughter.

"Oh stuff it, you." Reg replied laughing. All his tension has suddenly disappeared. If James was saying this than he knew that is what Sirius thought that too. The twins might have twin speak and all, but James and Sirius together were something else entirely.

It was like they both knew each other inside out and accepted each others with all their strengths and weaknesses. He hasn't seen any judgement. Just pure acceptance. They complimented each other. They were proud of each other accomplishment and would be seen happily helping the other in other's area of weakness.

Together, they were a wonder to watch. They were both absolutely brilliant wizards alone but together, they were a force to reckon with.  It was like  _they_ twinned themselves with their minds. They knew what the other wanted or thought, without any direct communication. He was sure they never had a full conversation. They didn't need to.

He envied Sirius to be honest. In a year, he had made such great friends, turned the family standing in society, made his father care about them, and found a great girl too (he figured out this summer that Sirius had fondness of Nix, more than mere friend); all while being academically brilliant and socially involved. Yet, he was still the same person he used to be. He was just more confident, charismatic and self assured now (like he needed more of that. 'Siriusly'!"). What a difference couple of people can make in a life, was amazing.

Well he had changed too. He was more comfortable in his own skin. He wasn't afraid to voice his  _own_ thoughts anymore, despite the harsh treatment dished  by out his mother. He knew that he had a  _home_ to come back to, if his mother did go off her knockers completely. He had a family. He wasn't afraid anymore. His way of thinking has changed too. He now thought with his mind considering all the fact, sides and what he saw, rather than parroting what his family (read:Mother) wanted him to say. 

His thoughts have completely changed about muggles and pureblood superiority. His family age old held believes were as antiquated and inhumane as was their tradition of decorating the walls with heads of beheaded house elves. After speaking with several muggles, he could safely say that they were happy with being non-magical. What was sense of trying to rule them? 

Magical and non-magical people were happy in their own world. Each had their own problems. Why try to merge and intensify it? That was stupid. He has been to several muggle establishment and has been impressed with how much muggles could do without magic. 

PaPo and MaPo have taken him to several muggle places and let him interact with several muggles. Good and bad both. They let him form his own opinion. That was a luxury, he wasn't used to. He was pretty sure PaPo was doing same with Dad. They never forced their opinion on you, just showed you a new one and let you derive your conclusions from it.

His refusal to come to pureblood fanatics meeting has been final straw for his mother. Hell broke loose. He has heard those ignorant fools and privileged idiots rant about same thing since he was a baby. They didn't know anything about the muggles but want to rule them. Their rants were that of a person who was so isolated and closed off that any new thought was impossible to be even considered.  _Arrogant dumb self entitled brats (_ a voice said in his head which sounded suspiciously like his big brother).

The days passed happily at the Potter Manor. Reg noticed that the trio would run off to the forests quite often. Reg actually met Nix at a lake with a big black dog on her lap on his last day there. Nix was running her fingers through the dog's fur while looking at the lake. The dog looked so peaceful and his wagging tail gave away his happiness. 

"Did MaPo finally allow you to get a dog?", Reg asked conversationally. The dog opened his eyes to look at Reg. Reg could have sworn the dog looked at him in amusement. That wasn't possible. Maybe the crazy gene of his family has started to take place earlier than intended. The dogs eyes were curiously the shade of grey, almost the Black house grey.  _Huh?_

Nix snorted, still running her fingers through the dog's fur, patted him and said,"Na, he is a free one. He just loves me (the dog bumped his nose and licked her face. Nix looked amused) and keeps coming here after every few days or so. Sit, sit. He won't bite." 

Reg tentatively sat near her. At her behest, he patted the dog, who licked him too. 

"Gross, isn't it? That saliva just won't go. But he is very affectionate, so their is really nothing to do.", Nix said. Reg just nodded his head. As the dog huffed and went back to lie down on her lap. 

"So what brings you here? It really isn't someplace you generally tend to come?", Nix asked him looking at the lake. 

"Its just I know Jamie told me that Sirius would be fine by me being in another house. But what if he isn't? What if I am a Slytherin, I hope not, and he hates me? I won't survive that, Nix. I can survive my mother but not without my elder brother.", Reg poured his heart out. The dog, he needs to find his name, gave him a bump and licked him again. 

Nix said looking thoughtful,"There was time when I was so sure that Sirius would hate me (at his incredulous look and dog's whine, she chuckled and patted the stressed dog). I did. Something happened in school, i don't really want to talk about it. But, he didn't. In fact, he makes it bearable for me, most of the time. Somehow, he just know what I need and I am very thankful to have him in my life. (She said looking intently at the dog, who was misty eyes.  _Huh?)._ Reg if he could move past what I did or our weird idiosyncrasies, he would still love you no matter your house. It is the choices we make that define us, not our history."    

"Jamie said something similar? G3?", asked Reg. He has learned a long time ago that anything like this was usually their G3.

Nix chuckled and replied,"Actually it was  _pardyado._  Grindelwald, my other great grandfather."She explained at his shocked look. "He is actually a fairly decent bloke. I can see why G3 would fall for him. He is ridiculously brilliant, powerful, charming and has immense passion for his dreams. He reminds me of G3, sometimes. He is less crazy though. He loves his family at lot, you know. It may not seem like it, but he does. He followed his dream because he was sure that it was the right path for wizarding world. He was tired of hiding from muggles. He wasn't right but he is a nice bloke."

"He actually helped me in my difficult time. (seeing Reg's questioning look) I was growing tooth and it was painful, alright. (Reg chuckled but the dog gave her a bump) Anyways,  _pardyado_  also sprouts these deep meaning philosophical things like G3." Nix finished with a shrug.

" _Pardyado?_ " Reg asked the blue eyed girl.

"Great grandfather in Bulgarian. G3 became very upset when we called him other G3. He hasn't forgiven him yet, you see. So Grindelwald suggested we call him  _pardyado_. It is his native language and we would have called him that anyways had the situation being any different."

Reg knew about Grindelwald being their great grandfather. He didn't know they still kept in touch with each other. He must have said it out loud because, Nix said,"It was my granddad's wish. Mom won't deny him his dying wish. She doesn't visit him anymore though. The reason behind granddad wish is still up for debate. Mom thinks its to make sure we never end up like him, while dad says it is about knowing your family, no matter how crazy.  We used to visit him quarterly which slowly were reduced to yearly. Mom doesn't really like him. I think she blames him for what he put G3 through. But Jamie and I, both like him. He is funny."

A majestic stag came strutting near them and then stopped when he saw Reg. It seems to turn an inquisitive look at Nix, who simply beckoned him towards her. What was happening to him? He was giving human expressions to animals? Next he would dancing and singing about their greatness. Stag sat beside the dog and they both started to playfully bump each other. It was adorable and sweet.

"My parents should be coming soon." Nix looked at him at the announcement as did the animals sitting in front of him.

"Well, at least its only 3 days and then, you would be off to the wonderful life of Hogwarts. Plus, you get to spend the Christmas here. That's great, right?" Nix said brightly, even if her eyes were troubled. 

"Come on, lets go inside. SIRIUS! JAMES! We are going inside. Just come in whenever!" Taking Reg's hand she left the forest.

They were both in intense game of chess when he looked up and screamed really loud, with legs and hands flaring haphazardly, and, somehow, upturning the game in process. He had looked up to see his mother's face glaring down at him. Nix was looking torn between laughing out loud and being concerned at his reaction to seeing his mother.

"Lady Black, welcome to our house.",came laughing voice of PaPo, who was standing with his dad. They both looked highly amused. 

Mother turned to look at him with superior expression. Why can't his mother be nice for a second? Reg thought angrily. 

"Well, thank you, Lord Potter. Although, maybe we should have come a bit later, seeing as your house still isn't ready to receive guests." Reg looked around and frowned. The house was perfectly fine and bursting with life.  _Mother!_  

"It looks better than our house does, mother." came the cold voice of his brother from the door. He had one arm swung around Jamie's shoulder. They both looked like twins standing there like that. Mother looked murderous, but Reg knew Sirius didn't give a damn.

"We should be going, Fleamont. We shall meet you all soon. Nix, thank you recommending that Professor for wizarding culture and law. He is very knowledgeable and has patience to deal with children too." Nix smiled and mother's scowl intensified. There were hugs all around.

Reg saw Sirius give Nix a tight hug and kiss on her cheek. She was a bit pink on her cheek but looked back warmly at Sirius. They both stared at each for a while, before PaPo coughed really loudly and they both sprang apart. Hugging her one last time, slapping Jamie on his back and giving MaPo and PaPo a hug, he stepped in the floo. He went next. And, he was back to the hellhole. He sighed and looked at Sirius. With mutually resigned faces, they trekked to Sirius's room and fell back to their beds, dejected.

* * *

He was there, finally at Hogwarts. He was here and was going to be here for next 7 years away from his mother. He could dance just because of that. He turned to see The Marauder's looking back at him encouragingly. Although he saw that Nix was looking a bit faint. She was all but sagged against James. The rest of the three were concerned but seem to be diverting attention of everyone else from her. 

The train ride was fun, the Marauders' introduced him to several of the students. He was dragged to Slytherin compartment by Bella for a while, before Sirius came in. He just took hold of his hand and took him away from the compartment. 'Few benefits of being the Heir, they can't really do or say anything.' The rest of the ride was spent having fun by playing games, eating and talking.

The sorting process started as he looked around the Great Hall. The ceiling was really beautiful. His name was called and he went up to the stool with dread filling his heart. All he could think was 'not slytherin, not slytherin' in a loop. 

"Hmmm...Y _ou siblings really don't want to follow your family traditions, do you?"_ Reg jumped a bit at sudden voice in his ear." _Easy there, tiger._ _After what your mother has put you two through, I am not surprised. Well you are certainly cunning, brave, intelligent and powerful, like your brother; but you are more curious and studious then he is. No, Gryffindor would not be a right fit for you. Better be a 'RAVENCLAW'. They should help you be your own person."_  Reg sagged in relief and his face split with a smile. So he wasn't in his brother's house, at least he was in Ravenclaw. 

He looked at the Marauders who were cheering and whistling at top of their lungs. Jamie gave him a wink. He smiled back in relief and happiness. As he walked to his new house's table, he looked over to Slytherin table and saw Bella looked furious (what else was new), Cissy smiled encouragingly and the rest of the Slytherins looked like they have been insulted to the highest level.

His housemates welcomed him warmly. He was so happy. He sat with Sherlock, Joanna and other people he knew from Potter's party. The sorting finished and dinner started. He had 21 new housemates. Suddenly he was hugged from behind. He lifted his head up and saw a beaming Sirius. Twins and Remus were smiling happily at him from behind. He hugged him back, then got up to hug the rest of the Marauders, including Remus (who was shocked but returned the hug happily). 

"My brother has brains, Prongs!",said Sirius wiping his fake tears off. "I didn't know that he was intelligent!"

"Well at least one of you are. We were afraid that their was no intelligence in your family, after being subjected to you for a year." came dry response from Remus, who has mirth dancing in his eyes. Then, he ran away as Sirius chased after him. Twins chuckled; waved him bye and went back to their dinner.

"This is how it usually is with these four. They act like buffoons most of the time.", Joanna said fondly looking at the Marauders. Sirius and Remus were playfully wrestling while twins cheered them on. The rest of the school was laughing at their antics.

"But don't let that fool you. These four are probably the brightest of us all.", came response from Sherlock. A truer sentence has never been spoken. He dug into his food and sighed happily. He was here, he has made it. As he went to sleep in his new dorm with his new mates, his last thought was,'He should write to MaPo about it.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that a bit repetitive? I felt like he needed to voice it to the rest of the purebloods.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	23. Life continues..

Of all the things to happen this morning, he would never have guessed this is what it would turn out like. Regulus was happily eating breakfast and talking to his fellow mates when a snowflake landed on his hand.

_It was so pretty. Wait. A snowflake? In September? Inside Great hall? What? How? Huh?_

He looked at Joanna confused, who chuckled and pointed to the Marauders. The Marauders were in process of waving their wands. Suddenly, the doors opened and in came an army of snowmen. There were almost hundreds of Olafs dressed in Ravenclaw colors. 

The adorable snowmen spread throughout the hall, even went to stand on Head table. Dumbledore looked delighted at them, even Professor McGonagall smiled. They began to sing and dance happily to 'do you want to build a snowman?'. Slowly they started to pull people along with them in their merriment. He saw the Marauders happily dancing and singing with them.

The girls were all cooing. An Olaf came and got him to join. The song ended in thunderous applause.  They then started singing 'Let it go' and the whole Great Hall joined in. Marauders joined him in dancing and singing. 

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Olaf!", Whispered a beaming Sirius. Reg looked at Sirius and was hit with the realization that this was for him. That Sirius has planned it days ahead without a care for his house. He would have loved him, irrespective of his house. He stared misty eyes at his brother and noticed that he was wearing a Ravenclaw scarf on. He gave his brother a tight hug, which he happily returned.

The hall was covered in snow by now. The Olafs then proceeded to make everyone make a snowman of their own. He saw students excitedly build snowman everywhere. The Slytherins and professors, who all gave in to the adorable puppy faces Olafs made at them, were seen making snowmen too. 

Someone threw a snowball at someone and soon the whole hall was in chaos. Ravenclaw and Slytherin teamed up against Gryffindor and Huffelpuffs. There were strategies, plans put in place, targets identified, defenses built, offenses planned. It was war filled with laughter and fun.

It was great. It was brilliant. It was ridiculously funny. And it was all in honor of him. He gave his brother a beaming smile. His brother along with other Marauders replied by hitting snowballs at his face.  _Oh, it was on!_

After what felt like hours, the students got tired. Dumbledore gave everyone hot chocolate; Professor Flitwick removed the snow; then head of the houses came to give timetables to everyone. As far as morning go, this was a great start to the day.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew was not happy. He has watched as the Marauders, as the four liked to be called now, were dancing and singing. He tried to join them but somehow ended up with the others boys in the year.

He was frustrated. All his attempts at increasing friendship with the three brilliant boys were not yielding any fruit. James was always nice as he was to everyone; Remus helped him in his homework; and Sirius spoke to him sometimes. But he wasn't close to them or even their friend, despite sharing dorm with them.

Austin was closer to them than he was. Austin and Sirius had mock competition about everything, to see who was more cool. It was hilarious to watch. They would fight about most ridiculous things, like who can flip their hair more coolly (both had fairly long hair); whose walk was better; who dressed better; the colors they liked; food they liked; songs, hobbies, interests, you name it and they have had a contest to see who was cooler in that. It was a good entertainment in common room. But it did nothing to solve his problem.

He knew the reason for his problem was  _Phoenix._ That girl had an issue with him since beginning. This was stopping him from getting powerful friends. He saw them planning pranks and vanishing at night for hours at end. He knew they were exploring the castle. How they didn't get caught, he didn't know. But he  _wanted_ to know. He wanted to be their close friend. 

Sirius Black and James Potter were probably the most powerful and influential heirs of this generation. He had the golden opportunity to improve his family status and monetary condition by befriending these boys. He could be popular and cool guy just by being associated with them.

No one really noticed him. Once a fifth year almost walked through him because he didn't see him. He was sure if he was a Marauder, he would be popular, famous and _seen_.  

But  _Phoenix_ stood in his way. Maybe he should ask her what her problem was. But he knew that both the heirs were awfully protective of her. One word to her and they would tear you apart or prank the hell out of you. It was well known in the school not to mess with them. Their revenges were ingenious and no one could blame it on them, yet everyone knew it was them. It was scary and brilliant. He wanted in! 

He decided that he was going to make James and Remus his friends, the rest should follow. They were all very close and if one made a decision, the rest would follow. He wanted that sort of loyalty for himself. They could protect him in the upcoming war. James and Remus were most agreeable of the lot. Sirius, he wasn't so sure. Phoenix was, ironically, the least amiable for him; while for the rest, she was an angel. 

He slowly started to cozy up with Remus during study session and started to sprout towers of praise for James. James seem to be getting a soft spot for him. He found himself walking with them towards the quidditch pitch for the tryouts. Nix had already gone with Marlene and Lily to the pitch.    

"I am sure you both will do great in the quidditch tryouts. I am mean, you both are naturals. Plus, you have the latest broom. No one can come even close to you.", Peter said in a breathless voice as he tried to keep up with fast paced boys. 

They both smiled and said thanks. But then nothing. He internally screamed. _Why? Just, why? Bloody Phoenix_.

He saw as Kingsley Shackelbolt, the captain this year, asked everyone to fly as their first round. He felt petulant to see that Phoenix was actually a brilliant flyer. _Damn it!_ _Can this girl be bad at one thing_!? 

Phoenix, Sirius, James and Marlene all passed the fly test with ease. The team was going through a revamp this year. They needed everyone apart from keeper, John Watson (who was brilliant), and two chasers, the captain, himself and Frank Longbottom.

Then came the second round, there were four who qualified for beater. Sirius and Marlene were clubbed together in pair and other two were paired together. Sirius and Marlene both worked like a single unit. They were brilliant, brutal with their unerring aim, and played on each other's strengths. It came as no surprise to anyone when Frank choose the pair as beaters. Peter saw Sirius whoop and got hugs from the twins. Remus and Lily were cheering their heart out. Sirius stood next to Phoenix with his hand around her shoulder. 

Then, the chaser tryouts began. James was spectacular..brilliant.. absolutely marvelous on the broom. He was flying like he was born on the broom. His aim and techniques were so refined that he even made the star chaser, Frank, fade into background. He was great, natural and so brilliant. Peter was almost drooling watching James score goal after goal. Peter heard a scoff and turned to see Snape sitting there looking disdained and pissed off. 

Regulus, Lily, Remus and the rest of their year were sitting and cheering for James with gusto. Snape looked like he has swallowed a melon. His eyes were trained on Lily, who cheering her heart out at James's quidditch skills. He looked aggrieved when James was selected for chaser position along with Kingsley. Snape was glaring daggers at James who was being hugged by his twin and Sirius. James had a loopy grin and cheered on as seeker trails began.

The animosity between the two heirs and Snape was well known among the boys. He didn't think girls knew much about it. It was obvious to him that Snape was jealous of such talented, charismatic and handsome boys, who were well endowed in everything so far. He knew that Snape was vexed that they would have such casual approach to their heritage, when he would have killed for such a position of power and influence.

Peter agreed with Snape in that, but he knew that if he was born in that situation, it would be normal for him too. The only reason Snape was here was because of Lily, who most probably dragged him here. Although, watching him, he was sure some part of the reason was to watch Phoenix fly too. Snape seems to begrudgingly like her for same reason as everyone else. She was friendly with everyone and treated them with respect. Except, where he was concerned.

Phoenix was even more of a natural on the broom than James was. Her broom and she seemed to be one entity. Twenty snitches were released in the air and after 30 minutes whoever caught most would be the seeker. Phoenix seemed to be flying around the pitch in frenzy for first few minutes; and then was simply floating in the air in leisure. Kingsley called off the time and then started to count. Peter was shocked when he heard that Phoenix had thirteen snitches in her pouch. The rest of the group looked unfazed by it. Peter was sure she would have collected them all, but left some for others too. _How considerate. Ugh._

Peter saw James give his twin a big hug; Marlene and she high fived; Sirius gave her a kiss on cheek and a hug. So the team was decided: Chaser: Frank, James and Kingsley; Keeper: John Watson; Beater: Sirius and Marlene; and Seeker: Phoenix.

Great! Now, he would have even less time to cozy up to James. He saw Remus, Lily and Regulus join the trio and Marlene, and leave together talking excitedly. He turned around to see that the rest of his year mates have left too, as had Snape. They all left, leaving him behind. Like he didn't even count. Like he wasn't there. As if he didn't exist.He didn't know what to do. He wanted  _them_ as his friends!  

* * *

Remus Lupin was nervous as he was pacing in his room at Whooping Willow. He was sure that he would grey faster than the rest of them. Not because he was a werewolf but because of the stress the three gave him. They were adamant about joining him on his first transformation this year. They were sure it would be fine. He wasn't so sure. What if he mauled or hurt them? He won't forgive himself ever, if that happened. But the trio refused to listen to reason. They all were very stubborn and loyal. It was as endearing as it was annoying. 

The three were to sneak out of bed under the invisibility cloak. They all vanished frequently at night that their respective dorm mates would not be surprised to find them missing. Buttercup (as Nix was called now) has suggested mapping down the places in castle. It would be useful as they might forget some places. The castle did have a lot of secret passages, they agreed. 

It was lucky that they were all so academically gifted that they didn't need to study much, other than completing their homework. They all made sure to study beforehand during the summers, so that they were free during the school year for their shenanigans. Their parents were fine with everything as long as they scored well and weren't expelled. The last one had a better chance of happening though. They were all advanced enough that they could easily perform some of the 4th year spells.

He paused in his pacing as his friends scent reached him before they did. The three came in and smiled brightly. Nix looked around with wrinkly face. "Ugh, this place is disgusting! Why is it so dirty?"

Sirius snorted,"Buttercup, the place is used for transformation of a werewolf, I hardly think interiors was a major concern."

"Yeah but still. This is disgusting.", Nix replied still looking around the room critically.

James looked amused, shook his head and asked a still pacing Remus,"Alright, then. This is great! You ready? Freaked out? Excited?"     

"I am freaked out, alright. Listen, if it seems that the wolf is not willing to see you as animals, run. Okay? Don't be stubborn, please!" Remus begged his courageous friends.

They nodded and Nix asked,"Moony, is their something we can do to make it easier, during or after the transformation?"

"Well, I am very tired and usually have a lot of injuries. You can use few simple healing spells which Madam Pompey won't figure out. But get out as sun rises. She might catch you otherwise. When I am a wolf, don't go for threatening unless you think you are in danger. The wolf is alpha and the rest of you would be his pack. So show him you are non-threatening. Okay? Please stay safe. I can feel the transformation. Change now!" Remus said as he felt the wolf rear its head.

A terrible snarling noise left him, his head was lengthening and bones were breaking to accommodate the wolf.  His shoulders started to hunch. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands; snout developed; hands were curling into clawed paws; his tufted tail  came out. The wolf was out. He could see his friends sitting on the floor in their animagus form. 

The stag and grim were sitting upfront, while a Phoenix was sitting calmly behind them. The wolf stared at them with distrust and went to sniff them. Their scents calmed him down. He looked at them curiously and approached them. He head butted Padfoot in affection, then did same with Prongs. He approached Buttercup and patted her softly. She had the grim in an intricate design on her wings; and there was a paw shaped design right in front of her heart. 

She started to sing softly. The wolf slowly shank down on the floor next to Prongs and Padfoot. He stared at her as she sang. The peace that he felt was immense. He didn't even realize it but the wolf fell asleep. The three animagus were happy that their friend won't suffer a lot on this transformation. They kept his sleeping form company as the moon ended its reign on night.

The next day Remus opened his eyes and, apart from normal bone ache, he didn't feel any pain. Padfoot, Buttercup and Prongs were sleeping next to him, peacefully. He examined them closely for any damage and sighed in relief, when he found none.

He suddenly realized that he had  _slept_ as wolf. Not raged, not rampaged, not hurt himself. But simply slept for the whole night. Buttercup's song was like a lullaby to the wolf. He was so grateful to them. The wolf was so happy that he had a pack that he decided to rest for a while. This was amazing!

He was a bit cold. Oh,  _crap!_ His pants had shred when he converted. He hurried to get dressed. He needed to find a charm that would let the pants stay after the transformation too. Thank Merlin, they were all sleeping. It would have been mortifying. He smiled and went to wake his friends up. They woke up and transformed back. With huge yawns and hugs, they left him behind to go to castle. He didn't think he could be happier than this. 

* * *

"What would happen if a werewolf was sent on moon?", asked a curious James to other Marauders. This wasn't even in top 10 list of absurd topics, Lily has heard them discuss very 'siriusly'. Honestly, these people! 

"He would die of oxygen deprivation!", Sirius said appalled at the very idea.

"We wouldn't send him without the suit or oxygen tank, you monster!*",replied a mock offended Nix. Remus just looked at them with incredulity, nervousness and humor. Lily snorted.

Lily could see dark circles under twins and Sirius's eyes. They looked exhausted and tired. Nix was leaning sideways on Sirius. Remus was feeding them with a peculiarly guilty expression. She knew they had gone exploring the castle last night. She didn't understand why they went. The next day they are always tired and exhausted. She figured this was the way of them keeping themselves occupied. They were all very advanced in academics as it was. 

Today, she had Transfiguration, Charms and Wizarding culture and laws (WCL) as her classes. The wizarding culture and laws was a very interesting course. They taught them about basic wizarding culture, traditions and laws. They had classes about proper wizarding etiquette, behavior, basic knowledge about wizarding cultures. These were very general and common to the purebloods and some half-bloods. But to her it was so new and amazing.

They were taught about cultural ideas, wizarding professions, different hobbies, passions, sports, important dates. They were taught popular wizard books, stories, creatures, and about popular wizards. They were also taught basic domestic spells too. Law would be covered from 4th year onward. She was finding more about wizarding culture in these classes than she had last year. 

The course was met with some disgruntle from purebloods and half-bloods who already knew all this. So Professor Yu Chang conducted a test at beginning of the year. Whosoever passed with Outstanding was exempted from classes but had to give the exam, which were both practical and theoretical. The twins, Sirius, and few other purebloods, were exempted from classes as they passed with Outstanding. But from her house, only these three were exempted, the rest had to take the class. Lily found Professor Chang to be very amiable, cheerful and patient wizard. He didn't mind when the students asked questions. He, in fact, encouraged it. It was amazing. 

Transfiguration was still her weakest subject. She never seem to be able to get it right. James was brilliant at it and has started to sit with her, last year, to help her. She was very grateful. She has seen Nix, Remus and Sirius give him a sly smile, which he promptly ignored.

This year they had Charms, Astronomy and Herbology with Huffelpuffs; Potion and Transfiguration with Slytherins; DADA and History of Magic with Ravenclaws. WCL was a common for all, as students were fairly less since the test. 

James didn't sit with her anymore because it was general knowledge that if there was a class with Slytherins, Lily would sit with Sev. James was walking with her; Remus was behind them, explaining something to Peter; Sirius and Nix were walking in front of them. Sirius had his hand around Nix waist as he listened to her explaining the intriguing part of the novel she had just read. Sirius was looking at her fondly and Nix was smiling excitedly. They were so cute together.  

She saw Snape and smiled brightly at him. She saw from corner of her eyes that James fell back with Remus. She felt disappointed that James won't sit with her. He made the classes fun and would explain the concepts so easily. Sev must have seen her disappointment because he glowered at her and said sharply,"You can sit with him, if you want. I can sit with my housemates." 

Lily shook her head and smiled. "Don't be silly Sev. Of course, I would sit with you." Sev seem placated by that but still glared daggers at James.

James was now joking and smiling with Nix, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Marlene. She wanted to be with the group but she knew Sev won't gel with them. The group just tolerated him because he was her friend. She sighed. 

This year's transfiguration seem to be worse than last because Sev, as natural as he was in potions, was not talented in transfiguration. She saw the Marauders complete their task with perfection within few minutes. Then they proceeded to complete their pending homework. They did that in most classes. She supposed they wanted to sleep during their free period of WCL.

Sev was with her for that class too. He said he didn't really know a lot about wizarding law. But she suspected he wanted to be in class with her. He was sweet, bit broody and rough around the edges, but sweet.

In Charms, she sat beside James, who smiled brightly at her. This was his weak subject. Not that he was bad, he just needed a bit of guidance. She was good at potions but in charms, she was apparently unparalleled. Sirius, Nix and Remus smiled at her and went to sit on the next table besides Austin. Marlene and Hank  joined them at their table.

She saw Peter looking put off by it. She had seen Peter try and spend more time with James. He must feel lonely, she supposed. The three of the other boys in his dorm were awfully close to each other. He must be feeling left out. But she couldn't see him fit in their group at all. 

The Marauders, sans Remus, waved her goodbye with huge yawns and left for dormitories. She trekked to the class with the rest. She noticed a peaceful content smile on Remus face. There was something very nice about it.

She saw Sev and smiled. Sev looked troubled for some reason. Before she could question him, Professor Chang entered class and started the class. They were walking by the forest when he voiced his issue.

"You are get awfully close to the Potters and Black.", Sev said in almost accusing tone. She looked at him and then said evenly,"They are my housemates. Of course, I am close to them." 

"I understand being friends with Marlene and Phoenix, they share your dorm. But the boys?", he looked positively peeved at that.

She replied back, gently,"They are my housemates too. Plus they are always around Nix. They are nice Sev. Try to see them as normal boys, instead of heirs of powerful families. They don't care about it, neither should you." 

"Of course, they don't. They walk as if they own the school. Which they do, actually. Both of their parents are on school board. You know, Professor Flitwick gave those _Marauders_ 15 points each for their school opening prank. Had someone else done something like this, they would be serving detention. But _they_  are always favored! Nepotism! Have you noticed that Potter stutters now? And, what is with their ridiculous name for each other? Prongs? Padfoot?", ranted Sev.

"They did a 4th year spell without any issue, Sev. Of course, Professor Flitwick gave them points! It was brilliant and it was fun. You would know if you had joined in the fun, instead of sulking in a corner. You melted your Olaf, when he asked you to join in the fun! Why would you do that?", said irate Lily

"It was not brilliant. They just get away with it because of power and influence of their parents! They are not talented. They are show offs. You saw the additional flips Potter did during his quidditch practice. All they want is people's attention. Its disgusting!",Sev seethed

"Enough! I can't deal with this every time we talk. I get you hate them for things they can't control. They all are brilliant, Sev. Not in one thing but in almost everything. They are nice, friendly and helpful people."

"It was Sirius who suggested that WCL be added as a  subject in core curriculum to better integrate muggleborns in the wizarding society. No, he did not tell us. I heard Bellatrix rant about it to her sister as I was waiting for Professor Slughorn. They help us in everything they can. They changed the view about werewolves. You read the article yesterday about how werewolves were now included in wizards suffering from major disease, not categorized as beasts anymore. They did that! They didn't need to, but they did!"

"They did the Olaf thing to welcome Sirius's brother to Hogwarts. Not to show off. Reg loves Olaf, and Sirius calls him that. Sirius wanted to show Reg that he loved him no matter what. They don't target individuals for a prank. It is for enjoyment of everyone."

"As for nicknames, they started to tease each other with these names but now it is stuck. I think its sweet and shows their wonderful friendship. You don't like them, fine! I like them and I will continue to be their friend as I am yours. But I will not have this conversation everyday. I am tired of this, alright. We will meet later. Bye!", saying this the pissed off Lily walked back to castle. 

She stopped when she saw the Marauders and the rest of her housemates sitting by the lake. They were skimming rocks to see who throws it furthest. She smiled, her anger at Sev forgotten, and went to join them. James smiled as he saw her. Remus gave her few stones. She joined the rest in skimming stones competition. It was a fun evening.

They played till Professor McGonagall came out to get them inside. The twins, somehow, managed to get Professor McGonagall to participate too. She won and whooped, much to delight of the students. They all went inside singing at top of their voice, Hogwarts school song. As they entered the Great Hall, they started the song again. Hufflepuffs joined them in singing, followed by Gryffindor, then Ravenclaw, and, lastly, Slytherins. Life was fun with these nutcases in her life. She smiled and proceeded to fill her plate with food.

Lily didn't notice her best friend's hatred filled eyes that were planning the Marauders demise and destruction. Bellatrix did notice that and smiled. This could be useful. Severus Snape was a powerful half blood, who was desperate for some power and status. He could be manipulated and used. She should get the other Dark Lord supporters to get him into the group slowly. They could cultivate a great supporter. She smiled. 

* * *

"Boys and girls, welcome to the first quidditch match of the year. This year's first match is between Slytherins and Gryffindor. It the match that will set the tone for the rest of the year.", Moony's voice, magically enhanced, spoke.

"Here comes the newly minted Gryffindor team. We have the brilliant captain in our star chaser, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Following him, is Frank Longbottom. He is a chaser who can scored 12 goals with a broken jaw. James Potter, the new chaser, is a natural on the broom. His aim is as accurate as wild his hair is. Speaking of aim, we have two new beaters: Marlene McKinnon and Sirius Black. These duo are said to play as two bodies, one mind. They will find you people."

"Next up is the keeper next who has yet to let the team be defeated by more than 50 points in a game last year. The phenomenal, John Watson. Lastly, we have Phoenix Potter, who is also a natural on broom. Must be a twin thing. She has been said to have caught 13 snitches in 10 minutes. So watch out for the team of the year! GRYFFINDOR!!!"

There was a roar of "Gryffindor" around the quidditch pitch. Nix looked around and saw Reg, sitting in the Ravenclaw stand, holding a huge banner that said 'Don't mess with my brother, he would beat you!' while wearing Gryffindor colors. Nix waved at him, which he returned excitedly.

"Then there is Slytherin team. The guy pulling the carriages of the team, their captain Rudolph Lestrange, who is a beater. His partner and his brother, who no one has heard speak a word before, Ruffle Lestrange. (" _Its Rabastan, Mr Lupin", corrected Aunt Minnie.)_  Right you are Professor, well the mute brother, _Rabsatan_ Lestrange. Abratrax Avery, who didn't score anything last year, Anastasia Grey, with a mean hook, (Am I right, McAvory?), and then you have Ur-anus Flint, who is also there." Remus commentary was met with laughter and boos.

"Then we have Dexter Nott, who does Not stop any goals. Finally, we have Lucius Malfoy, the seeker, who has such 'Lucius' hair that it would put ladies, even, to shame. Yes I am looking at you, Nix." 

Nix laughed and stuck her tongue out at Moony. The whole stadium echoed with laugh when Nix actually flew towards Malfoy, touched his hair, then wailed and started to mock cry on Sirius's shoulder. Malfoy looked like he was preventing himself from off the broom while laughing out hard. As was everyone else.

"With that heart shattering revelation for Gryffindor seeker, the captains are in the middle with Madam Hooch. The captains are shaking hand while subtly trying to feel each other. Now that is called sportsmanship! Alright, now that the fellas have felt each other properly, they are off in a flash after the quaffle." There was roar of laughter in the crowd. The captains were a bit red in face. 

"The quaffle is grabbed by James Potter. Mate, the air is not doing any favor to your hair. Flying with his wild hair, he has bypassed a very weak defense of Avery. Why is he in the team? He is about to goal but Nott is blocking his path. But that's okay because James has passed it to Frank, who has .....GOALED!!! Gryffindor lead with 10-0. Frankly, it was amazing!"

"Anastasia is flying away with the quaffle, oh, she dodges a well aimed Bludger from Sirius. That was brilliant. But she couldn't see the second one from Marlene. Ouch! I think her shoulder is hit. The quaffle was taken by Ur-anus (" _Mr Lupin!", Aunt Minnie's protest was lost in the loud laughter that followed)_ who has dodged attempts of tackle from Kingsley. Oh, he has aimed for the holes (" _Goals, Mr Lupin, not Holes!", Aunt MInnie said exasperated.")_ But they are holes in the air. (" _Goals!_  ",  _yelled Aunt Minnie.)_ Well if you say so...oh Ur-anus aim has been blocked by the marvelous John Watson." Aunt Minnie just shook her in resign.

"The quaffle has been taken by James Potter and he flying towards them, but Ur-anus is blocking his path. He dodges him, passes the quaffle to Kingsley. Kingsley is now surrounded by Anastasia and Avery. Kingsley throws the quaffle up which is snatched by James, who has to avoid Nott. That shouldn't be an issue and it wasn't. He has SCORED!!! It is 20-0 Gryffindor! The mute Lestrange brother has aimed a bludger in James's direction. Except Sirius is there, diverting it. Oh, the bludger has hit an unsuspecting Avery. Sirius is a dog, who would find you. Avery, meanwhile, is falling down and is unconscious now. The Slytherins are a member less. Honestly, it is not a huge loss for them."

"Anastasia has the quaffle and has GOALED!!!! Oh, Watson attempt was blocked by Malfoy. Huh? Shouldn't you be looking for snitch, O' Lucius-ous haired one? Anyways, score is now 20-10 Gryffindor. Oh, James has the quaffle again. His path is blocked by Ur-anus and Ruffle Lestrange. (" _Rabastan! and Uranus!" Aunt Minnie screeched.)_ Yeah him and Ur-anus, that's what I said. Coming back to the match...oh, they were both hit simultaneously by bludgers from two ends by the Gryffindor beaters. The players hit are not out of game but James path is clear and he CLEARS it!! Its a GOAALLL!!!! This is stag-gering! 30-10 GRYFFINDOR!!!"

The game went on great as Gryffindor managed to score 10 more goals, against 3 from them. Kingsley looked pointedly at Nix, who started to look for the snitch. She has kept an eye on Malfoy, in case he was able to find it first. But Malfoy was more interested in blocking Gyrffindor chasers. Why was he playing sneaker, when he could be a good chaser? Their chasers sucked. Anastasia was good and Flint seemed decent enough. Although she guessed Ur-anus was getting to him. 

She looked around for a while while taking a slow circle of the pitch above everyone else. Gryffindor has scored 4 more goals as have Slytherins. The score read 170-80 Gryffindor. If she caught snitch now the team would have a solid lead. She saw a golden glitter near Ravenclaw stand and looked at Reg, whose eyes were trained on it. At least next year, there would be good competition. She looked at Malfoy who has scored a goal and was busy celebrating. Nix flew towards the Ravenclaw stand and she could hear Moony saying something about it but all he could hear was wind in her ear.

The snitch flew straight in middle of the pitch. She dodged one bludger, but was sure she would be hit by other when Padfoot wracked it at Ruffle...er..Rabastan Lestrange. She smiled at him and flew after the snitch with Malfoy hot on her heels. The snitch flew down in a dramatic drop. Malfoy and Nix flew after it. They were neck to neck in the chase. The snitch kept getting closer and closer to the ground. They were close to the ground enough to ground that she could see the grass separately, when Malfoy pulled up. Nix kept following the snitch. A bludger flew just past her. She paid it no mind. She pulled the broom almost parallel to the ground and flew after the snitch. The snitch just was about to fly straight up when she snatched it. 

The volume of the stadium was turned on and she became deaf at the thunderous roar that was heard all over the stadium. James and Sirius tackled her in a hug and the rest of the team followed. Remus excited thrill voice could be heard over the roar and applause of the crowd. "Phoenix has completed a daring chase of snitch. She flew faster than a Phoenix. THAT WAS BRILLIANT! ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS! GRYFFINDOR HAS WON THE MATCH WITH 400-120. GRYFFINDOR HAS LEAD OF 280 POINTS!!! Next match is between Ravenclaw and Huffelpuff people, see you then!" Remus signed off saying that. He rushed towards his mates and joined in the celebrations.

The Gryffindor had a huge party in the Common room. Reg was there too. Gryffindor's didn't mind the younger Black in their midst. Marauders brought a lot of food. While Kingsley and Frank brought beverages, butterbeer and firewhiskey. Everyone joined in the fun and danced with craze. The Marauders had a sip of firewhiskey and almost gagged at the burn. They decided to stick to butterbeer for now. The party lasted late in night, till Professor McGonagall came in telling everyone to go to bed. It was a good night.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I used a famous Tumblr post. So whosoever wrote the original, credit to them!  
> How was the quidditch scene?  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	24. Drama begins...

''Father, you have finally come for me!",said dramatic Buttercup hugging Professor Utonium from Powerpuff girls, who was actually Professor Flitwick. Everyone in the Great Hall turned their confused eyes towards the Marauders, who looked absolutely gleeful. 

This prank was going to be good! The Marauders have made good progress in their exploration of the castle.They continued to add things on their maps. It was good thing Prongs was a decent sketcher. They stumbled upon a secret passage near kitchen that went directly to the staff rooms. It was gold. 

There was a this, ahem, incident that did happen while exploring the castle. Buttercup has declared that she has been scared for life because of it. Prongs, wholeheartedly, agreed. They were exploring castle when they reached a normal looking staircase. Except this staircase suddenly turned into a slide. Just that would have been awesome but that was not it. The slide dropped Prongs into lake, naked as the day he was born. He found his clothes neatly folded on his bed on his return. Buttercup transformed leafs into pants, after begging hysterical Padfoot to oblivate her. Prongs actually didn't see any harm in that. _This_  was not something he wanted his sister to see. Their childhood didn't count.

Now anytime, they would be near the lake, Buttercup would mutter about therapy she needed; Padfoot and Moony would make fun of him. Prongs would mutter about pushing the other two boys down that effing staircase.

They utilized their secret passage to the professors lounge. They knew that all professors drank from the tea pot in the lounge, almost compulsively. (They had, of course, spied.) Even G3 would drink from that pot. They actually saw Finch sneak in to have that cup of tea. Whatever bugger was in that tea, they didn't know (they had tried that pot's tea. There was no difference. Older people got weirder as they aged) but they were definitely going to use their weirdness against them.

Padfoot brewed a potion that would transform the drinker into a cartoon character based on their characteristics. (Padfoot had changed the potion a bit to make it muggle cartoon). Buttercup added ingredients that would make the potion absorb the saliva of the drinker and make it unique to each professor (She found about it during her dad and Boo's talk). Moony added a charm that would get the potion ready without need to heat or stir it separately, inside the body. He managed to trick Flitwick to tell him while serving detention with Flitwick. (He was sneaky that way) Prongs added the final spell that would not let the professors convert back for a day, at least. Buttercup also added additional spell that would slow the potion to take effect after a day. This way all professors would be affected.

The day before Halloween, the Professors transformed at the Head table. The rest looked at their colleagues in bewilderment before transforming themselves. Dumbledore was smiling brightly. The shock, the laughter and the outrage that followed was brilliant. They would still giggle every time he thought about it.

Arithmancy Professor Thatcher had transformed into a very adorable Olaf. She looked so excited about that. She conjured a snow cloud above her head. She was singing happily 'In summer' as she walked out of Great Hall. But she was stopped at the gate by Reg, who gave her a big hug and asked her if she wanted some ice treats. (One of Olaf's from the start of year prank had taken liking to him. Marauders decided to let him keep that one. That Olaf stayed in Ravenclaw tower and roamed the school. Dumbledore had actually installed a snow cloud above him to prevent it from melting.)

Reg looked confused at the mirth on Olaf's face and the Marauders, who were crying on the floor from laughing so hard. He actually yelped _loudly_ when Sherlock explained to him that it was not his Olaf but Professor Thatcher. He turned a bright shade of red and apologized profusely to Professor, who waved it off and asked for the said treat. Reg handed her the treat, watched in awe as she continued towards her class while cheerfully eating the treat and singing. He grinned and gave the Marauders a thumbs up.  

Professor Scamandar was next to transform. He was delighted when he turned into Popeye, the sailor man. He conjured a smoking pipe and asked for a spinach can from house elf (who was very confused). After eating the whole spinach in the can in one go, he proceeded to flex his monstrous muscles in every which way. Angelica said to the group in general, "Man, that is hot! Any guy with that sort of muscle can surely be my boyfriend." Padfoot who has been watching display of muscle with glean, saw Buttercup shake her head. "What you don't like muscles?"he asked her teasingly.

She smiled and said,"Having muscle is great and all, but I don't like it. I think being lean and fit is better. You are more agile and fast. That much amount of muscle in your body would just slow you down." Padfoot looked surprised but nodded in agreement. Prongs looked happy that Lily had nodded along at Buttercup's comment. Remus sighed. He was living in world of destined lovers.

Anyways, next to convert was Dumbledore. He turned into Rifiki from Lion King. He was so happy with it that he transformed his wand into the stick that Rifiki carried. Then, he jumped down the head table onto Gryffindor table. He picked Prongs up similar to the iconic scene, except Prongs was not a toddler but a heavy ( _Hey!)_ teenager(almost). It looked hilarious as Prongs was flaring about trying to prevent himself from falling down. But then both of them started singing "Circle of Life'' in full swing along with Buttercup. It was hilarious. 

Their song dance thing ended with Bugs Bunny chewing on the carrot, saying,"That's all folks!". Everyone stared at Bugs Bunny, when he said sternly,"Mr Potter, how long am I going to be this cartoon? I have classes today." Prongs exclaimed loudly with delighted expression,"Aunt Minnie!", then turned sour and passed 5 galleons to Buttercup. "I was so sure you would Minnie the Mouse!" Bugs Bunny snorted.

"Well if I had brewed this potion, which I didn't, you won't be able to transform back for a day. Again, if I did brew it, which I didn't. Also if I had brewed this potion, which like I have said I didn't, I won't try to change myself before the potion effect fades off, it would simply extend by a day. I would have added a charm for that, had I actually brewed it. Although, I have to say whoever thought of this ingenious prank was brilliant." Prongs finished that eloquent non-confession confession, gleefully. Remus knew they were going to hanged from a tower for this. He wondered if he could moon about it. But Professor McGonagall just sighed and muttered some choice words. She left for her classes with swag while still chewing on carrot. 

They turned towards the table at Professor Slughorn 'Yikes!'. He has turned into Garfield. The Marauders looked so entertained at that ('I knew it!', exclaimed Padfoot as he took 5 Galleons from Prongs). Slowly all the Professors were converting into different characters, almost one after other. Professor Sprout turned into Tweety (Buttercup looked so happy. She cooed.); Professor Chang turned to Goofy (much to amusement of Lily); Madam Hooch turned into Zazu("Edgy like a bird.", came the delighted statement of Prongs); Professor Armstrong, Astronomy teacher, into Buzz Lightyear('That was fairly obvious', said Padfoot).

The students actually saw Finch, who has turned into Jafar from Aladdin, and  Madam Pinch, who turned into Bella, coosing up. That haunted the students for days. All in all, classes from various cartoon characters was brilliant! The Professors took it like a champ. They all added their cartoon characters quips and characteristics while teaching their lessons. It was hilarious and highly entertaining. Suffice to say, students were very disappointed next day when the Professors in their normal form started to teach. Professor Thatcher was most disappointed of all.

* * *

James was going home for Christmas and he was happy! He loved Christmas, all the gifts, awesome food and treats!! Mom's cookies!!! Yum yum! It would be great!

This year has been brilliant, so far. They were topping the quidditch house table with 150 points lead, James has scored highest this year; Padfoot and Marlene were a force to reckon with in matches; Buttercup has caught snitches in all three of their matches. They were now waiting for the rest of teams to finish their matches.

The classes have progressed into a slightly difficult territory. The Marauders still have no need to study or practice. This irked other students, especially other purebloods and Snape. He had no idea what that bloke's problem was. He looked at them with genuine hatred. Well, except for Buttercup. He couldn't tell how to interpret  _that_ expression, but it rattled his stag for some reason.

Padfoot agreed with him and said,"I have to actively stop grim from tearing him apart. Snape is just jealous, Prongs. You know how Slytherins are. They are all about power and position. We both have got that, and more. He wants what we have. No point in wasting time on such people. I wonder what Lily sees in him.' James decided to ignore that bat-dude. He didn't understand why his Animagus would get upset and try to head butt Snape when he spent time with Lily. The whole situation was weird.

Padfoot's reaction was understandable. He told James once that apart from Reg, Frank and the Marauders, his grim wanted to harm every other guy. He has been controlling it because Buttercup would be mad at him. That he couldn't bear. He could rein in the grim, though.

Padfoot and Buttercup relation was different. They were both soulmates, after all. He knew this since beginning of this year, after he learned about souls in family magic classes. So he didn't say a word about their, sometimes, weird interactions. He was happy that his little sister was going grow old with his best mate. They won't have found a better guy for her. He knew Padfoot would give his life, if it meant Buttercup would be happy. What more could a brother want? Plus, he got his best mate as his brother for life. It was a win-win! 

He knew that Buttercup knew that they were both soulmates. He was proven right as now, Buttercup had a grim paw on her heart (Padfoot had been ridiculously happy about it) and the definite shape of grim on her tail. It could only happen when the person accepted their soulmate.

But he also knew his sister. He knew that till she was sure that the curse won't indirectly harm Padfoot, she won't mate with him or even acknowledge about it, out loud. He thought this was stupid. Padfoot wouldn't care about it. He cared more about Buttercup than he did of any harm that might befall on him. But then, Buttercup felt the same. He had decided to leave it alone for the time being, the bond would compel them anyways. Plus, he was confident that Padfoot would tear her defenses down. But if his brother (he has always been his brother from a horrible mother) was suffering because of Buttercup's stubbornness, he would step in.  

The best part though of this year was that Buttercup didn't have any drastic reaction to this year's new students. She did see their 'ending' but it was less potent than last year. The Marauders had spread around the school that the twins had tradition of not sleeping the night before the beginning of school year. So tiredness combined with a lot of candies took its toll on her health. Snape didn't look convinced. Honestly, one of these days, he was going to whack this bat dude. His stag agreed.

But Buttercup was fine. Like she was smiling constantly and did not looked ready to puke or faint in pain like last year. This year was great!

James and Sirius had performed another reenactment at Christmas celebration. This time they did a wizard version of toy story, a muggle movie. They danced to ''you have got a friend in me!'. He loved that song! Then the Hogwarts choir had performed with Frog chorus. Buttercup's voice has gotten even melodious since her transformation.

Speaking of transformation, it was fun. Moony hasn't yet had a new scar on him from his transformation. They have been playing games in the Whooping Willow. Except now, they were bored there. They have been toying with idea of going out in forest. Deep inside forest won't harm anyone, right? Moony was on fence. They were working on it.

He laughed as Padfoot roared in anger when he lost the chess game, he was playing against Moony. Buttercup looked up from her book and smiled. A disgruntled Padfoot laid his head on Buttercup's lap and started talking about nothing in particular. Buttercup placed her book next to her started to run her hand through his hair, while chatting merrily with him. Moony and he smiled fondly at Padfoot's content expression.

Padfoot's roar reminded him of their Halloween costumes. They had decided to go as Winnie the Pooh cartoon characters. Except they used the prank potion on themselves (effective for 4-5 hours) with a little tweaking of their original prank potion. James turned into Winnie the Pooh. He still remembers blushing crimson red when Lily, dressed as Madeline (a muggle character) literally cooed at him and gave him a hug. He heard muffled laugh from his so called friends. But at that moment, he was inexplicably happy, so he ignored them in favor of hugging her. He found that he actually loved the honey that he was carrying. Now, whenever he would add extra honey in his food, everyone around him would snicker. _Well, they are missing out_. _Honey was nectar!_

Padfoot had transformed into Tigger much to his delight. He decided to roar and scare living daylights out of unsuspecting Alice and Frank, who were busy making out. The whole Common Room was amused so see Prince Charming running after Tigger, cursing like sailor. It was great! Moony transformed into Rabbit. He decided to wear his warm cardigan and carry a book with him to the party. 'Siriusly', if he could, he would probably live within books. Merlin, have mercy on this studious chap!

Buttercup transformed into Kanga the Kangaroo. She was so excited. She hopped everywhere and filled her stomach pouch with candies. She stuffed James inside her pooch and off they went to the party. While Reg turned into Owl. He flew for most of the five hours, saying that he was going to milk it for what it was worth. Buttercup had a peculiar expression on her face and nodded. James knew she wanted to join him in flying but decided against it.  _Hey! Maybe next year they could go as their animagus form!_ He looked at Buttercup excited, who snorted and shook her head. _Oh well! Something else then._

This break was going to be filled with fireworks and drama, he was sure. First of all, Padfoot and Reg were going to stay with them. Moony would join them for a slumber party.  That would be awesome! They would have to attend the boring parties, though.  Except for Buttercup, he envied her sometimes.

But the more interesting event was going to be, Sirius's cousin wedding to Ted Tonks, a muggleborn Auror. They all expected fireworks to erupt and some family drama featuring Walburga Black. They were also invited to Christmas Dinner at Black's. Blacks had actually shifted the dinner two days prior to their normal dates to accommodate the Potters. They were all invited. Well, at least the drama quota would be high this Christmas. He grinned in anticipation.

* * *

Sirius Black was not happy. He had to see his darling mother again, who would no doubt be absolutely pissed that Reg has been sorted into Ravenclaw. Her prestigious Slytherin had no Black. He knows that two of his female cousins are there, but in his mother's eyes they didn't count.  _Stupid woman!_ At least he would be going to the bloody  _family_ dinner with the Potters. 

MaPo and PaPo were waiting for the twins with the Black brothers by the stairs. MaPo was chatting animatedly about this new ruin site she would be going to next. PaPo was listening to her with a fond smile. They both were wearing coordinated purple and dark yellow. They had such a sweet and beautiful relationship. Both of them allowed the other to grow up to their potential and live their dream without letting their pride get in the way. Sirius supposed that is what a relation should be. Talking about relation, where the hell were the twins?

Prongs came galloping down the stairs two steps at time with smart blue muggle suit and wild hair. _Merlin! Did his hair ever lay flat?_ He had flat out refused to use the hair potion designed for  _him_ saying 'I am staying true to myself!'. That was admirable. Although, Sirius knew Prongs was doing that also to piss off his proper brought-up mother, who didn't like a hair out of the place. The twins hated his mother with passion that rivaled the Black brothers. Sirius was always touched when they showed it in small actions, how much they cared for him and his brother. He smiled at his brother in everything but blood.

Buttercup came gliding down and he paused. She looked beautiful, not that she didn't look beautiful daily, but she looked really pretty today. She was wearing a form fitting yellow colored dress which opened as it reached the bottom. She had styled her hair into an intricate designed braid (he knew she knew spells for several designs but was too lazy to do it on a daily base.) with yellow and purple Iris flowers embedded in them. She had no jewelry on and looked stunning.  

PaPo had a sad smile on his face as he saw Buttercup. The Black brothers were confused. They looked at Prongs who explained,"He gets sad whenever she acts or looks old. As she grows older, she would leave us for the new family. It saddens him." By the end of the explanation, Prongs looked sad too.

Sirius was stuck by that thought. He never really thought about the girl in marriage. The girl was leaving behind her lifestyle, parents, family for a guy. Yet the guy had more power and authority than her, over her. He would make sure that Buttercup would spend as much time as she could with her parents and Prongs. She was going to be his equal was not a question, anyways. Maybe they could live together with Prongs for a while after Hogwarts...... He knew he was making plans but with the soul bond assurance, he knew they would end up together. He was sure, even otherwise, he would have fallen hard for her.

MaPo smiled brightly,"See, you could look absolutely wonderful if you just put a bit of effort. I know, I know. When you think it is worth the pain of dressing up, you would. But still, darling. Here, put this necklace on. Its Dumbledore family heirloom. Your G3's mother wore this. Sirius dear, put it on her. James fetch that gift from table. Fleamont, make the portkey in the meantime."

Sirius took the delicate necklace from MaPo. He noticed that the necklace had several small gems embedded in it. It was light, simple and exquisite. Just so Buttercup. He smiled and he put necklace on her. "You look really beautiful. Plus, I am sure mother would have a stroke at the bright color." Buttercup flashed him a devilish smile. He grinned back knowing that like Prongs, Buttercup wanted to annoy his mother too. That's why she put the effort to get dressed. They all circled around some broken instrument and were portkeyed to his house. 

He took a deep breath and froze. This couldn't be his house. Absolutely not! The old walls and older furniture were all gone. The interior of the whole house had changed. The color of the walls were bright yet light. It was soothing. The furniture have been changed into very comfy furniture, that he was sure were of highest available price. There was wall-long windows from where he could see outside, where there was a  _garden and did he just hear water running? Huh? Alert! Wrong house. Definitely wrong house!!!_.

The party of six had landed in the previous stuffy and dingy drawing room. Instead now, drawing room had welcoming and expensive furniture with French touch.  _Of course, British wizards maybe disdainful of French but their culture and fashion was followed religiously._ There were beautiful paintings, ornaments, vases and other designer stuff from their vaults on display throughout the house. It didn't make the place look pretentious but just added character to the house (while still showing we are uber rich.). As he looked straight ahead, he saw that the way to dinning room and kitchen has been changed too. 

Where there was this narrow dark, dingy path before, now there was a wide corridor that took to dinning area and staircase, which were modernized too. The corridor had Black symbol was painted on the wall with animated snake, owl and lion moving around happily together. The other side of the corridor was all high ceiling to floor glass, that showed the muggle lane in which they lived. He was aware that his mouth was open but  _what in the name of Merlin, had happened here?_  

The house looked like a modernized  _home._ It looked almost what he described to dad when they were talking about the soul bonds. There was red, gold, blue, bronze, silver and green colors adorning the walls in fascinating manner. There were owls, snakes and lions all integrated in design somewhere or other. He realized with a shock that it was his father's way of showing acceptance of his sons' Hogwart houses.

"This is your house, isn't it? It looks wildly different than the last time I was here!", exclaimed a shocked Buttercup. She was watching the house in awe and with agreeable expression. His heart soared. 

He was going to answer when a voice behind them said,"Well, I certainly hope so or I would have wasted a fortune on nothing!" They turned to see his father, dressed in all Black robes, smiling at them. He hugged PaPo, kissed MaPo on cheeks; and hugged twins. He then hugged Reg and congratulated him on getting in the smart house. Reg beamed. He then came to Sirius and hugged him.

"What do you think? Good enough?", his dad whispered in his ears. Sirius tightened his hold on him which he returned. His dad smiled at him, fondly. Then asked everyone to join them in dining area.

The dinning area had a new shiny table big enough to accommodate the party members. He grinned as he saw the kitchen. It had things that he had described to his dad. He was so happy. Then he turned to see the house guest and his fuming mother. The guests looked very uncomfortable. He understood the reason as soon as he saw Andy. She looked beautiful and he grinned at her, who grinned back. He waved at Ted, who looked so happy at being acknowledged. Honestly with all proper training, his family was the rudest of them all. 

He braced himself to face his absolutely civil and wonderful family. He moved closer to Buttercup and Prongs. He saw Reg do same with MaPo and PaPo. The family looked peeved and ready to burst at a moment's notice. He, then, saw look on Bella's and mother's face and sighed. This was going to be an absolutely horrible night.    

* * *

Cissy has been accustomed to uncomfortable, unpleasant, boring and stiff dinner parties since she could eat properly. This dinner took the cake and ate it too. She had to give it Andy. She wasn't afraid of her family and was here to make a statement.  Andy wore a beautiful blue dress and stood out in the sea of black. Well, her dress wasn't the only thing, she stood out at. Her parents were filled with murderous rage. Bella was fuming next to her. Aunt Walburga looked absolutely miffed too, but Cissy was sure it wasn't because of Andy.

It was well known in the family that the Potters were hosting Black heir and his brother for Christmas. Merlin have mercy, the traditional Christmas dinner was shifted two days prior so that the Potters could attend the dinner, just like that. Nothing has changed in this family for centuries and now changes were made almost on daily basis with nonchalance. The Potters had their own version of Christmas celebration, which the two Black brothers wanted to attend. So Uncle Orion simply changed  _their_ Christmas dinner date so that they and his sons would join. The rest of them got informed in a simply 5 line letter; Potters were invited in person by Uncle Orion during their weekly dinner. Everyone in the household didn't know how to handle change.

The Blacks were all annoyed and a bit wary of the control Potters had on Uncle Orion and his sons. No one was more angry about it then Aunt Walburga, who out for blood. She had heard her aunt complain or yell, with her it was same thing, about how the three men of her family have fallen into trap to the vile Lady Potter and her worthless daughter. How Aunt Walburga could call  _Nix_ worthless was beyond her. Nix was possibly the most powerful witch of their time, if not century.

She saw the Potters with the three said man entering the newly renovated dinning room. She liked this house better. It felt like home, not a hotel or museum. She noticed how Sirius stepped beside the twins and Reg beside the elder Potters. Uncle Orion and Mr Potter were talking excitedly about something. Her eyes were drawn to Aunt Walburga who was staring at distaste at the twins. It looked like she was trying to find a fault but couldn't.  

Considering that both looked fabulous might have something to do with it. Nix was wearing a body fitting yellow dress with a beautiful hair design. The flower and simple jewelry complemented the dress wonderfully. James looked handsome in a smart blue muggle suit. His wild hair rivaled his quidditch wind blown hair, even. But it looked good on him. He smiled cheerfully at Aunt Walburga, who looked appalled at such a state of a gentlemen. Aunt's mood tanked further, very visibly, when she noticed that Sirius's hand was on Nix's waist. They both very couple-y.

She saw Nix smile brightly at Andy, who smiled back. _Oh! She didn't know they were friends. But she wasn't surprised._  Then, Nix proceeded to sit beside Andy. James sat next to Nix, then their mother and then their father. Both her cousins and, if she wasn't mistaken, her uncle looked disappointed at the Potters being seated so far away from them. After everyone settled in their designated seats and the dinner began.    

Between meals she saw men engage in business things, while woman we're discussing dresses and latest _Witch Weekly_. She sighed. _It was all so cliched._ But she was surprised to see the amount of respect both the elder Potter's generated from the rest of the houses. She was amused to see Sirius ignoring everything around him but was completely focused on the twins. It looked as if he was stopping himself, just in time, from leaving his chair and joining the Potters. Aunt Walburga was turning darker shade of red at Sirius's every attempt, while Uncle Orion looked that more amused by it. Uncle Orion and Mr Potter made eye contact and stifled a laugh at Sirius's behavior.

She turned to see the twins talk excitedly with Ted and Andy about their NEWTS result, Aurorship, Andy's job with Nicolas Flamel, their future plans and their marriage. She could see that Andy genuinely liked them and was happy to indulge them. She felt sad that she won't probably even go to her sister's wedding. Lucius nudged her and gave her a small smile. She returned a brighter smile. He was so sweet! They stared at each other for a while.

When she regained her bearing with a blush, she noticed, apart from smirking and proud Lucius, that Sirius had lost his battle against will and was now pulling a chair between James and Nix. Reg has followed his brother and pulled a chair between Mrs Potter and Mr Potter. She saw Uncle Orion look with envy at his kids. Aunt Walburga looked like she would have a stork or her head was going to explode. She was sure she saw smoke coming out of her aunt's ears.

Aunt Walburga was not the only one. Bella was not going to be restrained. Cissy could always tell when Bella was about to explode. So she braced herself for the fallout. She was sure that Bella would attack Nix since Nix was in Bella's territory. Cissy had a strong suspicion that Nix would still swipe the floor with Bella, if Sirius didn't kill her first.

"The wedding won't happen, because Blacks don't marry filth. So you can clear your date, Potter.", seethed Bella. The rest of her family agreed. Well, except for Uncle Orion (his change in regards for mudblood was a severe contention point with the rest of the family) and his sons (no surprise there).  

"OH! That means the marriage is definitely going to happen then! Ted is brilliant and an Auror apprentice! So are are supposed to wear some particular color for the wedding, Andy?", asked excited Nix to grateful Andy. Sirius, Reg and the Potters looked interested in that as well.

"There WILL BE NO WEDDING!!! HE IS A MUDBLOOD! A FILTH!!! YOU ARE SHAMING YOUR FAMILY! HAVE YOU NO SHAME!!", yelled Bella

"HOUSE OF BLACK WILL NOT HAVE A MUDBLOOD'S BLOOD MIXED WITH THE PURE BLOOD OF BLACKS! THIS MARRIAGE WILL  _NOT_ HAPPEN! I WILL BLAST YOU OFF THE FAMILY TREE AND TAKE AWAY YOUR INHERITANCE!!! YOU ABSOLUTE SHAMELESS GIRL! BRINGING THE MUDBLOOD TO TABLE WITH PUREBLOODS, LIKE HE HAS A RIGHT!!", yelled Aunt Walburga with absolute hatred shining in her eyes. Sirius, Reg, Ted and Andy looked bored. Mrs Potter spotted a very disapproving look. Mr Potter was having silent talk with Uncle Orion. The twins were watching Aunt like she was most intriguing person they have ever met.

"MY DARK LORD WILL KILL YOU ALL, FILTHY MAGIC THIEVES!!! I WILL MAKE IT MY PERSONAL AGENDA TO TORTURE AND KILL YOU BOTH!!! DISGRACE!! EMBARRASSMENT TO THE FAMILY!!", threatened an off-her-rockers Bella. It was a good thing wands weren't allowed during Dinner.  

"Honestly, right now only person embarrassing the family is you both. Can you both not act like absolute lunatics in front of the guests? Try channeling something from all those  _bloody_ proper culture classes in you, will you? Aren't you two supposed to show the way of proper pureblood behavior? This is more in the territory of raving lunatics. Calm down and behave!", Sirius drawled. This irked Aunt and Bella more. But Aunt yelled first.

"You, YOU, are taking about manners! When you and your brother, left your place at side of your _father_ to join the Potters. Breaking all decorum and proper behavior? You LEFT SLYTHERIN TO JOIN _GRYFFINDOR AND RAVENCLAW!_ I HAVE TO BEAR THE BRUNT OF GIVING BIRTH TO TWO ABSOLUTE WORTHLESS SONS, WHO DON'T CARE ABOUT THEIR HERITAGE. YOU TWO HAVE NO PRIDE IN OUR FAMILY NAME! I REGRET GIVING BIRTH TO EITHER OF YOU TWO!!! SHAME OF MY FLESH...BLOOD TRAITORS!!!..", shrieked Aunt Walburga. Cissy was sure soon enough only bats would be able to hear her.

Sirius and Reg looked so bored ( she supposed they have to be immune to it by now) that it would have been hilarious, if not for such a 'Sirius' topic. Mrs Potter looked indignant and, for first time angry. Cissy was surprised to see Nix and James staring at Aunt Walburga with hatred in their eyes. They both looked at each other and nodded. Sirius placed a placating hand on Nix and gave James a small smile. She saw Reg doing same to Mrs Potter and Mr Potter. Aunt Walburga looked ready to blast everyone to oblivion. 

Uncle Orion stood up and the whole room fell quite. 

"My sons are not  _worthless,_ Walburga. They are both talented and at top of their years. They are well advanced in their subjects and have been taking part in wider societal issues. As for the tradition of Slytherins, its not the only house. The point should be to upheld the family name and take it forward. Which these two have been doing marvelously. I am proud of them for daring to change the views and still remaining proud Blacks!" Sirius and Reg beamed at him with watery smile. The Potter looked at Uncle Orion with approval. 

"You two, on the other hand, have no sense of decorum or proper behavior. We have  _guests_ in our midst and you both are acting like unhinged lunatics. Get a grip, or I will banish you two to a room alone! I am allowing Andy to marry Ted, not that she really needs my approval but since she has asked. I am granting her wish. She will be granted her inheritance and her name would stay on the family tree. Our family will attend her wedding and cause no issues. Those who don't want to attend, can stay behind but all the rest will attend a Black daughter's wedding."

Andy had tears in her eyes. Sirius and Reg looked with approval and proud at their father. The Potters looked happy at that and smiled encouragingly at Andy and Ted. The rest of the family had went pale and were slowing getting mad. Malfoys and Lestranges' looked very awkward.  Uncle Orion put his hand up to silence Aunt Walburga, who had opened her mouth, no doubt to scream some more.

"This is final! You are all sure that marrying a muggleborn will degrade our bloodline, lets wait and see what their child turns out to be. Ted Tonks has proven to a very capable wizard and he is soon going to an Auror. How many of our family has even being selected in such a prestigious program? Andy has brains on her head. If she feels that marrying him is best for her, then so be it. If their children turn out to be squib(non-magical child born in magical family) or magically weak, then you would have an example to discourage our coming generation from marrying half-bloods or muggleborns. I think that is worth the risk. Our future generation has different outlook at life. Let them see the results!"

This seemed to have placated everyone. Cissy knew the offended party was sure that Andy would give birth to a squib. Their beliefs was strong. Sirius gave his father a appreciating nod and the Potters grinned at him. She saw Uncle Orion give Nix a subtle wink. Cissy was always amazed at how soft and caring he was for Nix. Although, through the whole interaction she did notice that Bloom was looking very scathingly at Nix and Sirius. _Oh poor girl, having a dream that would never be true!_   

"My apologies for such improper behavior from my family. Let us retire to living room. Sirius, take the younger generation to the study room.", Uncle Orion saying this went to Mr Potter and Mrs Potter and started to talk and laugh. It was surreal to see her uncle so free with someone who was not family. As the younger generation was leaving, she saw Uncle Orion compliment Andy, Nix and James on their attires, saying they brightened the night. The twins grinned. Andy looked stunned at beginning but gave him a quick hug. Uncle Orion nodded. They left. She saw that Sirius and Reg were taking in the house like children on Christmas morning. 

* * *

The drastic renovation the house had to be the best Christmas gift ever. Only if mother became agreeable, all would be fantastic in his world. But you can't have it all. The kitchen had another corridor similar to other one with long window leading to the staircase. The staircase was shaped like a string and lead to first floor. The younger generation entered the study. Everyone stopped at the new study.

The study was in combination with library. It used to be dark with no windows, books stacked in an unappealing way, dad's study table and his files. It was never beautiful or nice. This study was breathtaking, especially for a bookaholic like him. He was sure Remus would loose his mind here.  The study has been transformed to include the next room too, making it larger and more spacious. There were comfy sofas, bean bags, stylish chairs spread throughout the room. There were small bright colored low height stools littered around. He could see high table and high comfortable chairs facing the window.

There were several bookshelves of different shapes and sizes. The circular room was covered in length long bookshelves, smaller bookshelves were placed strategically to make room look very beautiful and welcoming. But the most intriguing one was the one in center. It had spacious shelves in crisscross fashion, with half of the shelves having bed in them. It was brilliant, absolutely amazing. Father's study table was placed at a corner along wall. The ceiling were enchanted to show the sky above, like Hogwarts. There were small light in orbs floating around the room. It was beautiful. He could cry at the brilliance of the room!

He saw his brother look around excitedly. He saw his brother almost whoop at Nix delighted expression. His brother was already so whipped, he shuddered to think what they would after they marry. James was drawn to the quidditch books section (no surprise there); Nix went to get books on life longevity and alchemy (no doubt, her interest was piqued after hearing about Flamel); Lucius went to pick some business books (Did he think about anything other than business? He was discarding Cissy in that. Because _eww.._ ). Bella and Lestranges' went for the Dark spells section, only to be stopped by an invisible force. Bella turned to look at Reg.

"These spells must be dangerous, so Dad had put wards to prevent children from getting a hand on them. Once you are of age you can probably access them. I would still confirm with Dad though. I am feeling hungry!", Reg said. Everyone looked at him funnily.

"Hey, I am growing boy. I get hungry fast!", Reg defended himself. Everyone snorted.  

Malfoy said,"Wait, I will call my house-elf, your's would be busy with the adults. DOBBY!"

A young looking house elf was wearing a pillow case cover came to bowed down low to Malfoy. "Master, calls Dobby! What can Dobby do?" 

"Bring some food and cookies for everyone here. Don't drop it like before!", ordered Malfoy, hitting Dobby on head. 

He felt bad for the elf but not all treated their like Potters. Even their own elf was treated like dirt by his mother. He turned to see James frowning at Malfoy. Nix had gone rigid and had a wayward look. He knew that the Marauders had noticed because next moment James went to his twin casually and Sirius went to Andy and began speaking louder than necessary.

"So Andy, what gift do you want for your big day? Oh, are you marrying in muggle ways? Do we need to be dressed in muggle dresses?", a smiling Sirius asked. Everyone's attention was at them. He saw from corner of his eyes that Nix was dabbing her eyes and hugging James. Sirius's eyes were pained. He was curious at this behavior. 

"Well, muggle attires, Sirius. Ted's family would be there as well. No color theme, just anything bright should do. Your presence and acceptance is gift enough. I won't need anything else.", said Andy happily.

Bella exploded,"Muggle attire? You have fallen so low that you would make us hide our true self, so that  _you_  could marry a mudblood. Well _I_ won't be gracing this joyous occasion!"

"Thank Merlin!", muttered Andy.

"I don't like you.", seethed Bella at Andy.

"I will get over it."*, replied a smiling Andy. Bella looked pissed. The twins joined Andy and Sirius.

"Then, it would be a joyous occasion. Yes!", cheered Sirius, placing his arm around Nix's waist. "You think we should wear some outrageous color, Buttercup?",Sirius asked Nix cheerfully, his soft eyes were asking her a different question. 

She smiled brightly, that eased some of tension from Sirius's shoulder,"Well how about I wear hot pink and you can wear Gold with Prongs. Then you two would be twining. Reg can be the classy one in blue, eh?"Nix turned to ask him. He smiled at her fondly and was about to reply when Bella butt in.

"Why are  _they_ invited?", asked Bella pointing at the twins.

"Considering I like them, I would have invited them anyways. There is a certain lack of nice people in the world.  Potters are prominent Pureblood family and I did work with Mrs Potter at ruin site during my fifth year internship.", Andy replied nonchalantly

Dobby came back with a pop carrying loads of plates. He started to distribute the food one by one.

"You know Hogwarts has the largest platoon of house-elves. Well, we have second biggest, I reckon. Anyways, G3 was saying that he might follow our lead and start paying the house elves 10 sickle and a day leave per month. I think that's marvelous.", James said loudly. Reg noticed Dobby's ear twitch a bit at that. 

"Oh Merlin! Will you two leave any creature alone? Now its rights for  _house elves?_ They are born to serve us.", said a irate Bella. Dobby shoulders bowed down more.

"Just like you are born to be an absolute pain in the arse.", said a voice. Reg turned around to see who spoke and then covered his mouth in horror, when he realized  _he_ had said this. _Shit!_

Sirius, twins and Andy looked ridiculously happy. He was surprised they didn't burst into impromptu dance or something. The other looked shocked, while Bella looked furious.   

"Moving on from that honest comment. Bella, only people who have house-elves are the very rich ones. Poor ones can't afford them as it is. 10 sickles a month would hardly put a dent in your money. Relax, will you. Also treating other humans with a bit of love and respect, won't kill you.", Sirius said easing the tension that was built.

Malfoy cleared his throat and asked Sirius,"Can I borrow this book? It might interest father."

Reg saw Nix give Sirius a slight bum on his hips as she turned to see Jamie ponder option of food offered by Dobby. To someone not accustomed to these four, it would looked like she was turning and bummed into Sirius. But he knew better. It was signal for Sirius about something.

Sirius nodded and said,"Sure as long as it is not damaged and returned back, I don't see any issue." Malfoy nodded. James sneezed loudly. Reg saw Nix wave her hand a little and some spell hit the book in Malfoy's hand. No one else was wiser. He looked at Nix who looked satisfied about something. She smiled brightly at the petite house elf. Thanked him and gave him a hug. Reg saw her whisper something to him. Reg knew she has done something. He just didn't know what or why. He hoped it was to save that poor over-worked house elf from an abusive family. He knew the pain of being abused. He just hoped someone can be saved.

* * *

He didn't think he could be more shocked by the house, but he was. Buttercup and Sirius were in his bedroom looking around with awestruck expressions. His room was definitely bigger than Buttercup's bedroom. It had a enchanted ceiling as well. The walls were painted with designer patterns in red, blue and grey colors. There was comfy looking sitting area on left of the door wall, perpendicular to it were two study tables, then there was partition. On his right side were some cupboards and what looked like liquor cabinet.  _Oh!_  

Crossing the partition, was a huge bedroom with a king sized bed and left side to it was blank wall but adjoining it was wall length window. On the right, there were bookshelves and two doors. One door lead to washroom and closets. The closet was huge, like he could fit his old room here without an issue.  _Phew!!_ _Who had these many clothes?_  The bathroom had a Jacuzzi, a shower with jet sprays and two mirrors with two washbasins. The other door almost made him shriek. It opened to a vast garden with quidditch pitch in the center and lake at side. It was lit with purple colored orbs. There was also what looked like a tree house in a corner of the garden. The garden was beautiful filled with all sorts of flowers. It was beautiful and so peaceful.

Sirius has carefully noted Buttercup's reaction to the room, till now it was all delightful. He was so happy. His dad has surpassed all his expectations. He was so sure that he would have to shift as Buttercup would be miserable here. He won't allow that. But now, maybe the possibility of living here was not bad at all.  A delighted yell and a high pitch shriek made them turn back. They turned to see Prongs and Olaf (Reg) standing there gaping and looking very excited. 

"This is brilliant!! Absolutely amazing!", said an excited Prongs. "Don't go grazing, brother.", Buttercup muttered. Prongs flushed a bit and stuck his tongue out. Sirius laughed loudly. 

"My room has access to library directly! It is blue and silver colored! I have so much space for books and my quidditch equipment, its great!!", an excited Olaf. Sirius beamed and hugged his brother. 

"I thought I would find you all here.", they all turned to see dad, MaPo, PaPo and an annoyed mother standing there. 

"Well, this door is actually a varied version of portkey. The area has been warded with the most powerful protective spells, so its absolutely safe. Same goes with the windows that are there all over the house. The rooms can be modified later as you grow and need other things. They are big enough, I would venture. Did you notice the blank walls? Well you would make it however you want. Paint it, stick pictures, draw on or leave it blank is up to you. I...."Orion's rambling was cut off as he was engulfed in strong hugs from his sons.

Mother said icily,"No girl is allowed in your rooms, apart from your betrothed and family members. That is non-negotiable!" They all nodded. They gave their dad a goodbye hug and kiss on his cheek. Their dad looked absolutely delighted by that, and ruffled their hair affectionately. After giving their mother a stiff and cold bow, the brothers left with Potters back to their  _home._    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the reason why Sirius seemed to be more affected by bond is because he has fully accepted it, whereas Nix, like James said, wanted to be sure that she won't harm Sirius though her curse indirectly. This would play a role later.  
> *all modern family :D  
> yeah so no vision here. it went to long as usual. next chapter probably  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	25. Vision, heels and wedding. What could go wrong?

There was a time when she loved to sit outside basking in full moon's soft glow. But since seeing the pain and suffering Moony went through because of full moon, she has started to appreciate the no moon nights more. Their animagus form had made the werewolf calm and outright playful with them, but Moony still went through the transformation pain. She wondered if there was a spell or some sorts of potion that they could developed for it. She would write Boo about it. 

She was sitting alone in between the flowers blooming in their backyard, staring at nothing, as everyone else slept on. She hasn't been able to sleep. She kept thinking about the vision.

_She was standing in a fairly normal sized room that had very few things lying about for it to be someone's actual bedroom. But she could see from the bed sheet condition that it was frequently slept on. Maybe a guest?_

_She turned to look around when she yelped. There was an older version of the Malfoy's house elf, Dobby._   _He was pacing around nervously and muttering to himself that he was a bad elf but he had to warn him. The world needed Harry Potter safe._

 _Huh? Was her nephew in danger? Again?!? Whe_   _re the hell were the adults? And, why was Malfoy's elf looking so worried and scared? What was it? Merlin, she wanted to help. She could almost scream in frustration at her future self for leaving her nephew alone like this._

 _Her very disgruntled and disappointed nephew opened the door. He was too thin. She tutted. She ventured that she could probably see his ribs. Was no one feeding him? And, why was he wearing hand me down clothes? Even house elfs wore better clothes than he did. Why in Merlin's name, was his glasses_ cellotaped _? Couldn't the appalling human beings buy him glasses. That was a basic right!? She_   _was going to impale whoever treated a child like that! Disgusting humans!_

_She saw him control the shriek that was clearing coming out. He looked at creature with curiousily. He really wasn't afraid of odd things or creatures, was he? Her brave, curious boy. She smiled._

_"I am sorry, sir, but who are you?",asked Harry quietly._

_She could see that this was probably the first time Dobby has been addressed with respect. She almost gave her nephew a hug for not asking what but who. He cared about people, no matter who or what. He respected living beings based on who they were, not what. She was sure he had accepted Moony's curse too, just as beautifully. James and Lily would have been so proud of him!_  

_"Harry Potter! My name is Dobby, sirs. I am a house elf!", Dobby said in high pitch voice , excitement brimming out of him._

_"Alright, Dobby. You can't be here. This is really not a good time for you to be here. And speak softly, my aunt and uncle would be furious if they heard a noise.",Harry said quietly._

_Furious? Wait, was Harry living with_ her _? She had kept this state of her nephew? Did she turn into a disgusting human being as she grew older? She could not believe she would ever get furious at Harry for making noise, after all the shenanigans she herself has done. Has she turned bitter and was taking out on her nephew? She ...she made his life_  this.

 _Oh Merlin! Why would she do that? What happened to her to make her so bitter and an absolute shit of a human being?_ She _was the reason why her nephew was almost malnourished, wearing such shitty clothes and had_  cellotaped  _glasses_? _She didn't even provide basic care for him? Oh! she was horrible horrible person to treat a child like that! Never mind that this child was her nephew!_

_She started to cry in earnest at that earth shattering revelation. Harry, the beautiful sweet boy, went and sat on the best as if meeting strange creatures was a daily occurrence for him ._

_"Harry Potter sir, should not go back to Hogwarts!! It's dangerous for him! He is in danger. Oh, no, he shouldn't go!", Dobby said imploringly. His big green eyes reminded her of a puppy._

_Harry looked at him befuddled but not unfazed."And why is that?"_

_"There is plans to kills you, sir. You don't go. It's too dangerous!", Dobby almost begged._

_"Who is trying to kill me? And how do you know that?", Harry was still very calm at a news like that. She was getting disturbed at his calmness at being a murder target._

_"Dobby hears things sir. I works for Malfoy's. They is not nice people. Please don't go to Hogwarts!", saying this Dobby ran into the fire in Harry room. Harry caught him with expertise only an athlete could possess. So he did inherite James' s quidditch talent. Looking at his size, he was probably a seeker. She felt proud._

_Her pride turned to horror and disgust at herself, when Harry replied with absolute certainty, "I would rather be a target for murder, then spend any more moment here more than necessary!_

_Her skin was crawling with disgust at herself. She was so horrible to her nephew that he would rather be murdered than spend a moment more in her presence. She wanted to kill herself. Why was Malfoy's elf so freaked out? Harry was really in danger. House elf rarely ever went against their masters._

_"Why would Harry Potter wanted to go back to schools, sir, when he didn't even receives any letters from his friends?" He should stay here, where he is safes sir!", Dobby was almost begging._

_"My friends have...wait..how do you know they are not sending letters? Did Malfoy send you to prevent me from going to Hogwarts! Because that won't happen!", said Harry a bit agitated._

_Dobby removed a  thick stack of letters and looked guiltily at Harry, who made a grab for Dobby. Dobby ran down , Harry went after him. She saw a picture of three people, who was definitely not her. Unless she changed her appearance._

_Her vision changed and next he could see an almost 17-18 years old Harry, begging desperately for anyone to help him. He had blood flowing through his clothes as he cradled a clearly dying body of Dobby._

_Dobby opened his eyes,"Harry Potter..." and was no more. She wept with her nephew. A scar faced fairly handsome guy came out and said,"I have placed Ron, Hermione in a room. She would be fine. Although her torture was extensive." He looked quizzically at Harry, who was busy staring at the body in his hand._

_"Griphook, the globin, and Olivander are placed in two other rooms. Fleur is mending them. Luna and Dean are both fine. Severely hydrated and malnourished but fine. Are you hurt?", asked that man kindly and with worried expression._

_She could understand it. Her nephew has just escaped with six people clearly tortured and kept prisoner while holding dead body of the elf. Dobby has given his life to rescue him. She saw the look in his eyes that was too old for a boy so young. She wanted to hug him  but didn't know if she had the right anymore._

_"Can I have a shovel?", Harry asked that guy while lovingly closing the big green eyes of Dobby. The guy looked bewildered but then had a awe and touched look grace his handsome face. "Yes, of course."  So her nephew was the kind soul who was going to dig the grave of his savior his, friend himself; not use a wand to do it. And, she was so horrible to_ him _!_

She came back to her present surroundings when she felt a body sit behind her with leg parallel to hers. She recognized the smell as Padfoot's. He hugged her from behind with one arm and wiped her tears ( _oh, so she was crying on the outside too)._ He turned her head slightly looking very concerned and pained at her pain. She gave up the fight and turned to cling to him desperately as she cried with everything in her.

He held her quietly while running soothing circles on her back. She cried and cried for what seemed like hours. He gave her all the comfort she would take. After a while she sniffled and pulled back.

"Do you want to talk about it? Or I could just distract you with something else, if you don't want to talk about it.", Sirius asked lovingly but she could see the concern in his eyes.

"You..you can't tell James. It would destroy him and he would hate me! I can't bear that!", said Nix. Tears started to fall down her face again. 

"He would never hate you! That's like saying McGonagall can't do transfiguration. But, I promise. He would be happy you are confiding even a little to someone. You can't carry it alone, Buttercup. I won't tell him. Just please..what has you so troubled?", Sirius said, wiping away the tears gently.

"The reason I am refusing to tell James specifically, about the visions is because it is mostly about his son. His and Lily's. He will live an extremely horrid life. I just found out that he hates his aunt more than anyone else. I am not surprised, he wears hand me down clothes, has cello-taped glasses and is clearly malnourished. " 

"He is ...he is... wonderful, you know. Brave, smart, quite an athlete, so loving and caring. Why am I so horrible to him in future? How could I..I be such a  _monster_  to treat my half _'_ s heart like that?" Nix started to cry again and he hugged her.

"Did you see yourself treating him badly? Or did he say your name? Or anything? How are you so sure, it's you?", Sirius asked calmly.

"He said his aunt and uncle would be furious at him for making noise. I am the aunt. Who else is there?",asked Nix. Sirius could see she loathed herself right now.

"Lily's sister.",Sirius put forward. At Nix's disbelief, he explained,"She has a sister who hates her. Remember, she was crying when that sister sent back her gift unopened. I actually saw her sister at station. She looked disgusted with everything magic. She does look like a person who would be horrible to her nephew because he had something that she didn't. She gave me my  _lovely mother's_ vibes."

Nix looked a bit contemplative but at least her look of loathing had vanished. "Is she very thin with blond hair?" Sirius nodded. She smiled in relief but then frowned.

"Where am I? Where are you? Remus? Why is that disgusting creature raising Prongs' child.", Nix asked, worried.

"We don't know yet, Nix. I am sure you would find out later, as and when magic feels it is right time. Don't jump to conclusions. Don't hate yourself. You are a wonderful person, Buttercup. The best! You won't even treat the worst of beings like that. It's not you. As to where were the rest of us were. I don't know. But you are not  _the aunt_  James's son was talking about.", Sirius told her with confidence while running his hands through her hair and back.

Nix gave him a tight hug which he returned. She, then, turned back and leaned on his front. 

Nix looked sad at something and looked at him with concern.

"Has your mother being using curses on you? You told Prongs that you were hexed since a young age. But you haven't being cursed, have you?", Nix asked tentatively, placing a hand on his cheek with concern and her eyes were shining with love and care. He smiled. 

"No, she usually uses hexes to get us in line or, nowadays, to listen to her. Its nothing, Buttercup. Don't worry about it. We are fine.", Sirius told her reassuringly. 

"What can we do to help? What should I do?", asked Nix almost desperately. 

"You being there is more than enough, Buttercup. You don't know that the thought that  MaPo, PaPo and you two, are there for us, helps us deal with a lot of shit. Talking to either of you helps. You help.", Sirius told her with a smile. He saw her eyes sparkle with something. He knew she had gotten a brilliant idea for something. Before, he could ask about it, she turned around and leaned back on his front. 

"Yeah, it couldn't have been us. You know. The guy Lily's sister marries is a whale with Hitler mustache.  _Bleh!_  I don't think you would ever transform yourself into something so disgusting.", Nix smiled at Sirius's indignation.

"No transformation or form of Sirius Black can ever be ugly or fat, Nix! How dare you?", Saying this, he smacked her cheek with a kiss. She giggled. He smiled at that, pleased with himself.

"So Prongs does get together with his crush, after all?", Sirius said with a smile.

"Yeah! They have an amazing child, Padfoot. He looks so much like Prongs! Just his eyes are green like Lily's. He has same built and size, although thinner and sadder than Prongs. He did inherit Prongs' quidditch skill and mop of hair too.", Nix said that with a delighted smile.

Sirius laughed at that. Then he realized something else. "You said 'it couldn't have been  _us_ '? Are you telling me something about our future, Buttercup?", Sirius asked with almost euphoric expression.

Nix turned to look at his face and chuckled. "No, I haven't seen anything like that. (Sirius raised his eyebrow. Nix blushed. Sirius watched her, enthralled) It's a reasonable conclusion." She was deep red but looked back with determined expression at Sirius.

He kissed her nose affectionately. He looked her in the eye and said,"Yeah, it is!". They both got lost in each other. The connection was broken when a bag landed loudly on the ground. They both jumped away. They hadn't realized how close they had gotten; and, then proceeded to blush furiously.

James was there with cookies, milk and some biscuits. He grinned at them evilly. Sirius could hit him but he didn't want to leave his place by Nix.  _Idiot Prongs, it wasn't like something was happening. It wasn't. Okay, maybe it was. But honestly! They were still children, for Merlin's sake!_

James laid down with a huff on Nix's lap. "You both could have woken me up too. You know, to gaze at nothing. It certainly is fascinating.", He said teasingly.

Nix huffed and patted his head. James closed his eyes and smiled. The three sat there staring at nothing and indulging in occasional small talks. Maybe, it was Lily's sister who was the aunt or maybe it was Nix. Nix would take Sirius's advice and prevent herself from drawing conclusions, till she had full picture. She settled more comfortably against Sirius's chest, who tightened his hold on her waist.

* * *

"Oh, here comes the funeral procession.", Nix said looking at the people wearing full black, mourning clothes with expressions to match to boot. The mourning people were the Black family and their relatives. It looked like they were mourning their loss of blood purity with black dress. 

Nix could tell that this was a very weak response to the fireworks James expected. He was disappointed with the Black family. He whined,"What happened to 'you are blood traitor', 'you are embarrassing the family', or 'shame of the flesh'? Man, this is dull! The food better be good!"

From the sea of black clothes, burst three bright spots wearing bright gold, light blue and dark blue-green muggle suits. They made their way, happily, from between the mourners, who were looking at them with disgust. Reg was dressed smartly and looked handsome in light blue suit. Orion moved towards Dad looking damper and handsome in 3-piece dark blue-green suit. Sirius was wearing a wild grin and matching it with an outrageous golden suit.  _How did he manage to look so handsome and cool in such an attire?_  He was twinning with James. Nix smiled.

Nix had worn a short, tube top, hot pink colored dress. The top of the dress was lighter shade of pink with mirrors sparkling all over it and lower had hot pink frills. She wore high heel for first time, had hot pink lipstick on, and her hair was open with two braids designed to look like a crown. Sirius and Reg almost doubled back when they saw her. She grinned.

They all hugged each other. Orion left to meet the bride. He would be giving her away. The rest took their places. The mourning party was given a separate section at the wedding. The wedding was being held at Embleton Bay. She knew that Andy had charmed the place to keep it unusually warm. The muggles thought it was amazing that during the winter wedding, the sun was shining brightly and it was warmer than usual. It was a beautiful long stretch of beach overlooking the impressive ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. Since the morning was mysteriously clear, they could see ruins perfectly from the beach. There were dunes, beautiful flowers, grasses and birds chirping.

James looked delighted at being at beach again. It had been a while since they have been to a beach. Buttercup wanted to fly and see this beautiful place too. Maybe at night..Hmm...Her eyes suddenly caught one of the young ones from the Black funeral group . Bloom Rosier was glaring at her with animosity. Nix saw that her eyes were trained on Sirius arm around her waist. It was amusing to see her try to be mean to her and then fail. But she would give it to her, Rosier was persistent. 

Her eyes moved through other Blacks. Andy's parents were looking furious and mortified.  _Why can't they just be happy for their daughter? Arsehats!_ Her eyes met with Cissy, who smiled at her. She smiled back. Cissy was wearing a fairly nice black dress which was definitely for celebration. Cissy, always the proper woman.

Bella was standing by her side, looking either on verge of blowing up or committing a murder. She would wager later one. Nix smiled sweetly at Bella, who turned purple. She heard three distinctive chuckles. Her eyes collided with Lady Black, who was sneering and looked to be toying with her wand. Nix assumed she wanted to hex her into oblivion. 

Sirius tugged at her waist slightly. As she looked at him curiously, she saw that Reg and James have come on either side of them. Sirius gave her a small kiss on her cheek (she blushed.  _What was happening? Why was she suddenly getting these reactions, where he was concerned? It didn't happen before, ever! Okay it did happen, but not like this. Dammit!)_ Sirius smiled happily and gave her waist small squeeze. Then turned and glared furiously at his mother. He wasn't the only one. Reg and James looked more pissed off than Sirius. His mother, Bella and Rosier looked absolutely vexed. But before any of the party could do anything, the music started to play.

Nix got really excited! This was so sweet! The couple has battled against society and come out victorious with place in Black family and inheritance still intact. Ted was brilliant man who was funny and absolutely loved Andy. He was a Hufflepuff through and through. He was also a great baker. His cookies and cakes could put everyone's food to shame.

Andy, on other hand, was brave, independent, smart and headstrong. She didn't care that her family would (most likely) hunt her, abandon her or leave her penniless. Nix had realized early on, when Andy explained her  _paid_ internships that Andy has been preparing to leave the family for a long time. She was, after all, a Ravenclaw. And now, a muggleborn and pureblood from frantic pureblood ideology family were getting married, happily! Oh, if this wasn't a fairy-tale, she didn't know what was. 

Nix was literally bouncing on her heels. Sirius looked at her with amused and fond expression. She smiled brightly at him and he looked dazed for a second. Nix looked at Andy who looked beautiful. She was wearing a body fitting cream colored gown with deep sweetheart neckline with net placed strategically. Her gown was backless and hair was designed beautifully. She looked amazing. Nix thinks she squeaked, because Sirius hold on her tightened. She controlled her excitement at seeing two people in love getting married. 

Sirius stood behind her with hands around her waist, James and Reg were standing on either side. Orion gave away Andy's to Ted, who had tears in his eyes, and took his place. The ceremony was beautiful with the castle, ruin and beach backdrop. Sirius handed her a handkerchief as she started to cry. James and Reg were amused at seeing this side of her. They patted her and said "there, there". She stuck her tongue at them but continued to cry as the ceremony progressed. The moment they were bonded for life, sun was setting down and it looked absolutely stunning. Andy and Ted were glowing with happiness.

They all cheered as the couple had their first dance. Then Ted went to dance with his mother. Andy stood alone regally as her father refused to join her on stage. Orion stepped up and asked if he could be honored with a dance. Andy gave him a tight hug and nodded. Orion and Andy had a slow dance where they both could be seen laughing and talking. 

Then the band started. Sirius pulled Nix to the dance floor for a ballroom dance. Then, Sirius went to dance with Andy; while Reg danced with Nix and James danced with their mom. Then Nix danced with James; while Reg went to dance with Andy and Sirius danced with her mom. Nix danced with her Dad, then Orion, then Sirius again.  James and Reg joined the floor with two girls (probably Ted's cousin). As the music grew faster, they started to dance in a group. It was so much fun. They just let go. For a while, Andy and Ted joined them too. Her parents and Orion cheered on. 

After dancing for an couple of hours or so, they all went to grab a table. Nix winced as she removed her high heels.  _Merlin! These were painful. No wonder mom hates wearing these awful things_. She was massaging her heels when Orion came and waved his wand. Suddenly, all the pain vanished. She looked at him in surprise.

"What? I do know spells, you know?", Orion said teasingly. Nix hugged him and made him sit with them. 

Sirius smiled at his dad and said,"Hey dad, welcome to the cool table. (Nix snorted. Orion smiled.) What spell was that, it would come in handy, if she is planning on wearing those monstrosity at every party." Nix didn't know whether to feel touched at his concern or smack him for joking about wearing heels. She would so like to see boys walk in heels.  _OH!! Yeah she figured the next prank._ She grinned evilly.

Orion explained the spell and also taught her a spell to reduce the pain from the heels itself. She hugged and kissed his cheek. She was doing a happy dance which James and Reg joined in; while Sirius asked about a stronger spell. 

There was very disapproving tut noise, which stopped them in all in their track. The funeral Black party have arrived to suck the happiness out of the cool table. 

"Is this how a proper lady acts in public?", scorned Lady Black.

A cold reply came from behind her. "No, but this is how a happy girl reacts. She is not a lady yet, let her live, will you?". She turned to see that Reg was the one replying his mother back. He had anger brewing in his eyes.

"What do you want mother?", Sirius asked coldly as he came and stood along with her. 

"I wanted to sit with my  _family_  on such a JOYOUS OCCASION. THE MOST ANCIENT AND SCARED HOUSE IS NO LONGER PURE. Isn't that a cause of celebration? LOSS OF EVERYTHING? So, we are joining you here. Sirius, sit with Bloom. She will show this wayward girl here, how to be a proper lady.", Said a condescending Lady Black. Everyone was looking at them. Andy was frowning but had a resigned expression.

"Lady Black, you should, of course, sit with your family members on such a joyous occasion. I just find it fascinating that proper lady culture has evolved so much since I last attended cultural classes. Maybe I should rejoin to see the drastic change in proper behavior.", Nix said politely.

"What do you mean?', Lady Black asked with arrogance pouring out of her. 

"If I remember correctly, but then it has been long ago, a proper lady must always be polite. She can never scorn, sneer or yell in public. She needs smile politely at all. Then, I am sure I attended several classes detailing on what to wear as per occasion. A proper lady should always be dressed according to situation. But clearly the customs have changed. I mean you, Lady Black, are the epitome of proper lady. With Bella and Miss Rosier, you are certainly challenging the old ways. And in style, if I could add.", Nix said respectfully.

"I have to say I was quite partial to old ways.", Sirius said with a mournful expression.

"Time is truly changing.", James joined in with equally mournful expression.

"But then again, old ways must part ways for new ones.", Nix added somberly. The three's eyes had mirth dancing in them.

"Why you little piece of shit..Blood traitor...", Bella screeched.

"Oh. This way  _is_ more freeing than the proper old ways, isn't it, Cissy?", Nix asked Cissy.

Cissy replied with a grin,"It sure is, Nix. I will miss the old days when talking was politer and more convoluted than present way's simple slang and slur. But, it is definitely easier. Miss Rosier has been leading the charge to change the proper ways since the beginning of her first year. It good to see Bella and Aunt Walburga join in to change the old wizarding proper ways. It will certainly set a trend if the oldest purest house of pureblood ladies are all adhering to a different set of norms."

Rosier flushed. Lady Black and  Bella looked pissed at being reminded by  _this girl_  about proper behavior. Oh they could kill her now and never regret it. Sirius gave them a warning look. Walburga knew that Sirius and, unfortunately, Reg and Orion, would break all ties from her, if she harmed a hair on their precious girl. 

The funeral Black party looked gobsmacked and the other side was trying to stifle their smiles. Andy was beaming at Nix and the rest of the party decided to ignore the weird Black group.

Orion cleared his throat and looking amused at the two young girls and their polite smack down. He said cheerfully, "Well, dear, I would miss the old ancient ways too. It is more proper. It is a shame that the  _oldest and most scared_  family has forgotten what it was. Maybe you two can continue the old ways. Now, move along. Weren't you all planning on walking along the beach?"

Nix asked Cissy if she wanted to join with a head tilt towards beach, Cissy replied in negative. Twins, Sirius and Reg, all bowed down in proper old manner and took their leave. The children ran into beach and had a big splash fight which was joined by Ted's cousins as well. It was great fun! 

They returned to their table, when it was time for Andy to leave, dripping wet with big smiles on their faces. Sirius subtly went under the table covering his ears. Nix and James watched him amused. The reason for his 'disappearance' was fireworks. Padfoot in Sirius was making his presence know. Well the marriage hasn't been a total bust at least, she thought as she watched the fireworks.

* * *

"Would it kill you three to open a course book?",asked an exasperated Remus to his friends. Nix was slightly dozing off on James bed while James was reading quidditch magazine beside her. Sirius was laying flat on his back singing under his breath "Hakuna Matata!". The exams were coming in just couple of months and he has yet to see them open a course related book.

"It might, you never know.", James replied with a thoughtful expression

"Why take the chance?", Sirius added with a smile. Then the two went back to their tasks, while Nix has entered her dream world.

James would read a lot of books on quidditch, Sirius would read up about defense spells and ancient magic; Nix has been pouring over books and books about longevity and alchemy. It was very annoying to think that despite not picking a book or even opening one since year began, these three would again be top of the batch. They refused to write their homework from coursebook, instead reading advanced books on same topic and then integrating that into their homework. Professors would always mark them 'Outstanding'. Yeah, they learned like that but come on, finals were no joke.

The three refused to carry their course textbooks, saying that they were fragile beings, not made for carrying such heavy burdens. Ask them to carry the ridiculously heavy boxes of quidditch supplies and suddenly their frailness would vanish.

The door to their dorm banged open. In came Peter, Lily and Marlene. James sat a bit straighter, Sirius and Remus choked back a laugh. Nix slept on hugging James closer.  

"Nix, come on. We have to go, remember?", Lily came to wake her up. Peter watched the girls curiously. He seemed happy to see Nix go. Remus sighed. Yeah, he probably didn't like Nix; after all, Nix avoided him at every turn. 

"Yeah, yeah I am up.", Nix said in a sleepy voice while falling back on the bed.

"Where are three off to?", James asked curiously. As Nix got up with visible effort and yawned widely.

"Without us?", asked mock-offended Sirius

"Buttercup, why would you abandon us?", Remus asked desolately.  

"After everything, Buttercup, you are leaving us.", James grabbed Nix in a hug while mock sobbing.

Nix snorted. The other three smiled and the rest looked highly entertained at their antics. 

"We have that girl's only thing with Aunt Minnie.", Nix said while patting James on head. 

"Right. Have fun. And tell us if its anything interesting.", Sirius said and went back to his singing, James went back to reading quidditch magazine. Remus looked at the three girls. They were hiding something. They almost had a evil smile. Well he hoped, it wasn't what he thought it was. It would lead to a prank war in the school.

And he was proven right,  _again._ The girls had planned a prank on entire male population of Hogwarts. The three of them had set a spell that would transform the boys shoes into high heels. The shoes refused to come off for 18 hours. 

 _Merlin! It was painful! Why do girls torture themselves like this?_   He would admit that it was hilarious to see boys fall down their arses and then walk in 'bambi' learning to walk manner. All the girls in the school were highly entertained the whole day. 

Sirius and James had literally fallen on their faces as they were thundering along the corridor to get to breakfast in Great Hall. Remus was more patient and was walking like a normal person. He stopped to look at his shoes after entering the Great hall. They had turned into high and pointy heels. He looked with incredulity at James and Sirius, who were trying, unsuccessfully, to get up from the floor.  _Did the Marauders have competition in school? This won't do. Naha..._

The three turned to see Nix, Lily and Marlene laughing hysterically. The boys were gobsmacked and the girls began to laugh even harder. Sirius and James repeatedly fell down trying to get another up, only to crumble down together. It took them good 5 minutes to get a balance to just stand without falling down. All the while, all the girls in Great hall were having gala of a time. The three guys, very carefully, started to take baby steps towards the dining table and collapsed on the nearest available seat. 

Nix gave them all hugs and patted them on their back. Sirius refused to let Nix  leave his side. So she sat on him. Sirius wound an arm around her to prevent her from falling. These two would make him die of diabetes with all their sweetness. 

They saw most of the boys either fall down or look at their shoes-turned-into-pointy high heels with incredulity. Then attempt to walk shakily or fall down or both, to their dinning table. They all knew it was useless to attempt to remove them. Marauders usually set fail safes for that.

Reg looked at his heels, shrugged and walked gracefully to his table. The rest of boys watched in awe while the girls hooted. Reg blushed a bit but smirked at the falling guys.

Snape planted his face on floor. His bat hair flew in every direction and his black cape (honestly was he channeling Batman?) Folded on top of him. He looked at the Marauders boys with hatred and then was shocked at their heels as well. He managed to walk after a long time, swaying on his heels as he went.

Peter came running in, again he was late at getting up, and fell down. All he heard was laughter. At him. He glared at the  three girls. He was there a long time till some Huffelpuff girls helped him to a seat. He looked around to see that his year mates didn't even notice he was not there with them

They were all busy chatting, teasing and, even, comparing their heels with each other. Hell, they were having a party. The Huffelpuffs had helped him sit so far away from them that all he could do was stare at them. He hated Phoenix for making his life miserable. That bloody girl.

The Marauders boys had kept their heel adorning feet's out for the falling and pissed off boys to see. Everyone was more shocked at the fact that Marauders were targeted too, more than the prank itself.

The Marauder boys were wondering why were people still coming into the halls without a care in the world. They turned to Nix, who explained,

"Lily charmed the door to show normal Great Hall scene from outside. They can't hear or see the hilarity that is taking place here.", Nix said laughing at Frank falling flat on his back, only to have Kingsley fall on top of him with 'omph!'. Alice neatly bypassed them with 'oh, watch it honey!'

Frank and Kingsley looked accusingly at the boys at table. They showed them their high heels and shook their head.

Frank groaned," Great! We have another set of pranksters!" 

"Nah. It was Nix, Lily and Marlene.", Remus said while watching them with pride and admiration.

"We have corrupted them! Woo!", James did a version if victory dance sitting on table. He squirmed his hips and moved his hand around. It ended when he smacked Sirius right on face. Everyone burst out laughing.

"Okay. But why?", Kingsley asked after the laughter had died down; and his another attempt to stand had failed.

"Educational purposes." At the incredulous look of guys, Lily explained,"We heard a group of guys taunt a girl about not being able to wear high heels. As if it was the most easy task in the world."

"We soon found out most guys thought that girls just whined about heels because we like to whine. Not because it's awfully painful and difficult to balance in. Let's see, who whines more today.", Marlene added by cracking her knuckles and grinning.

"So we decided to give guys a taste of the high heels they love so much.", Nix finished.

The girls around them began to cheer and smile for them. Remus saw Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Professor Thatcher, and Dumbledore look at them with approval and pride.

Alice chimed in happily,"We should do this yearly. You know, as a reminder for guys not to be arsehats!"

"Hey! I ask you not to wear them.", Frank protested while still holding a shaky Kingsley. They both fell down again and groaned.

"Not you, my love. But you are still disappointed when I don't wear them. Yeah yeah I look sexy but it's painful as hell. So yes, make it yearly, you have a prefect's permission." Alice said giving the girls a hug. 

"It actually has a hex that would zap you if you don't walk for 2 hours at a stretch.", Lily added smiling evilly.

All the boys cursed. Girls beamed. The whole day the girls and professors made it a point to make guys walk as much as they could. At the end when the heels came off, Hogwarts resonated with combined groans of relief and pain.

Next day several boys were limping and even the word high or heel made them wince. Several girls later came to thank the girls for making boys understand what they go through. Some even suggested things like have them in make up all day or short dresses (that was interesting. They might do it next year. The spells needed some practice). The three girls grinned. It had been 'highly' entertaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so flashback is not accurate as original but it served what I wanted to go with. Sorry about that.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	26. Wormtail..

Nix was going to have some 'Sirius' words with Magic when she met her. 'Siriusly'! What the hell? Magic really needed to learn when to bestow her with another effing vision. She had been having increasing flashes of visions. Some were just glimpses while others were outright scary.

"...Kingsley has the quaffle. And, he has SCORED!! Gryffindor 100-170 against Hufflepuff. Today, Ludo Bagman has been in phenomenal form. He is famous for his stamina. It is clear from his scoring in holes after holes (" _Mr Lupin! Goals! Not holes!", Aunt Minnie yelled)_ , yes,  _goals._ Has something being promised in return, Ludo?" Bagman grinned and gave Moony a wink.

"Yes, so their is a promise which has woken the hidden sniffler in Ludo. .."Kingsley looked at Nix, who shook her head. She hasn't been able to spot the snitch once since the game started. She caught a golden glint somewhere at side  and she nearly jumped off her broom. 

There was a dragon behind her  _dragon! Mother of ... A full grown dragon was behind her looked ready to breathe fire on her. It has black scales, and was lizard-like in appearance. It also had big yellow eyes, bronze horns and similarly colored spikes that protrude from its long tail._ _Merlin! The dragon looked very aggressive and dangerous. Close_  enough that it just needed to stretch a little bit to swallow her whole, in one go! What in Merlin's sodding pants!

S _he jerked away when she saw her nephew fly with amazing skill past the scary fire-breathing dragon's mouth and grabbed a huge golden egg._  Uh? Why was he stealing a dragon egg. More importantly, what was a dragon doing here and why were people cheering like that? Was there some sort of competition? 

 _"Mr Potter has completed a daring chase. What a nerve! Our youngest competitor_ (Ah! So it was a competition _.) in this year's Triwizard tournament_ (Oh! They started it again in future? Her nephew was Hogwarts champion? YAY!!! _) has completed the task faster than anyone else! While the youngest sneaker in Hogwarts history (_ Nix was preening with pride) _gets himself checked, the judges will decide the marks." Ludo Bagman said._ Ludo? Hmm...age did not do him any favor.

Her flashback ended. Merlin be praised! There was no dragon here. On the other hand, she would have preferred a dragon then to see McHingan dive down towards the snitch. She speed towards it almost breaking her broom's maximum speed limit. She had the faster broom and she was gaining ground.

"Go, go, go. Come on!" She has reached McHingan's feet, now was at shoulder to shoulder height. She stretched her hand as far it would go. S _he had to be short one, didn't she? Honestly!_ Then her broom went past him and she just managed to snitch the snitch with a flip from underneath McHingan's humongous hand. They had WON THE QUIDDITCH CUP!! YES!!!

She was tackled into hugs by the rest of the team. Remus thrilled voice resonated,"YEAH!! YAY! YAY, YEAH!! QUIDDITCH CUP IS GRYFFINDOR'S FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW!! PHOENIX has managed to snatch the snitch right under the nose of Hufflepuff seeker. LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!" Party music started to play in the stadium.

Next day Nix explained why she didn't spot the snitch first to a grumpy James.

"You had to have a vision in middle of a quidditch match?", Said annoyed James "We could have lost the cup!" 

"Merlin, Prongs! Its not like she can control it. It was amazing catch, Buttercup.", Remus said with a smile.

Nix smiled at him. "Sorry Prongs. I just freaked out at seeing a dragon about to fire at me."

"I am sorry. Did you say, a  _dragon_?", Asked disbelieving Sirius. James and Remus looked shocked too.

"Yeah. A fully grown Horntail dragon. Merlin be praised! He was scary as anything!"

"Why a dragon of all?", James asked

"Some sort of task in Triwizard tournament.", Nix shrugged. The other nodded. It was well known that that tournament had weirdest and most challenging tasks.

* * *

There was another vision that shook her to the core. It happened when the three animagis and their werewolf friend were playing a game in shrieking shack in March. It made her so sad and vividly pissed off at  _Peter Pettigrew._ It was a miracle that she hasn't hexed him yet.  _That coward!_  

 _She saw Harry, a brown haired girl and a red haired boy, whose hair rivaled that of Lily's, clutching his leg. It was bleeding profusely._ Was that a animal bite? _He had a rat, who was desperately trying to be free, clutched in his hand. They looked frightened at ..._ Sirius _._ Oh...... What happened to him? 

 _A mass of filthy, matted hair hung (Oh Sirius!) to his elbows. If his eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse (_ Nix had desperate urge to feed him till he resembled a stuffed turkey _). The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. (_ Nix started to cry. What happened to him? Why...Why was he in such a horrendous state? This alternate reality was horrible. Absolutely horrible! _) His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. (_ How has Sirius not taken care of his appearance? He prided on his look more than Cady did. Looking at his condition of hair and teeth, she didn't think he has even seen a mirror in years.)

Her heart was aching with heavy pain seeing Sirius in such a state. She wanted to hug him and never let go. It hurt her, so much, at seeing him like this. He was in so much pain, desperation and an urgent need of shower. She tried to give to touch him but it went through him. Oh, she was going whack Magic!

_The red haired boy looked at Sirius and stood up on his clearly broken leg and said," If you want to kill Harry, You have to go through us first. You understand! You have to kill us first!" Saying this he and the brown haired girl stood in front of Harry shielding him._

Oh, hold on for a second! Sirius hurt James's heart and soul. Absolutely not! No matter the situation. Sirius would lay his life down for James and his children. She was sure of it. On other note, it was heartwarming that Harry has friends who were willing to die for him. With the life she has seen him live till now, it was encouraging to see he had such wonderful friends.

 _"Only one will die today!", Sirius said as dramatically as ever. He had wild mad look in his eyes. He was staring in hatred at the ..rat._ Maybe the crazy genes of his family has taken hold of him?

 _"You betrayed my parents! They are dead because of you!" Harry screamed at him, coming in front of his friends shielding them._ He really was James's son, wasn't he? But he was wrong. Oh so wrong! Sirius Black would never betray James Potter in any universe. She would bet her life on it.

_Then an older looking Moony came barging in. They hugged each other like they haven't seen other in a while. Moony looked so sad and Haggard. His clothes were torn and patched in places. He looked too thin for her liking. Why was everyone starved and malnutritioned in this bloody verse!?!_

_The brown haired girl looked absolutely betrayed,"I kept your secret because it didn't matter. And, you have been working with Sirius Black the whole time! Ron, Harry, he is a werewolf!". She said this and stood in front of the two boys. Remus was trying to get the bleeding on Ron's leg to stop when Ron yelled,"Get away from me, you werewolf!". Remus froze and Nix felt sadness envelope her._ Has this world still not changed their views on werewolves?

_Remus and Sirius asked Ron for Scabbers, the rat, who they kept calling Peter, claiming that there was more than  what met the eye about this rat. The young wizards refused to believe him until Remus gave them back their wands, in exchange for them hearing him out._

_"We need to explain them everything Sirius. You need to wait.", Remus said patiently._

_"I have done my waiting. 12 years of it!", Sirius screeched._

_"You owe it to Harry to understand. He needs to know!", Remus reasoned. Sirius deflated visibly and sat on the bed petulantly._

_Nix sat beside Sirius, again trying and failing miserably to provide him some comfort, as Remus explained everything from James, Sirius and Peter finding out about him being a werewolf; how they became Animagus; their weekly adventure; Snape and group animosity; Snape incident; making Marauder's map._

_He explained how he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione with Peter Pettigrew (or Wormtail, his Animagus name) with Sirius Black in the map. Remus, then, explained with guilt in his voice, that he did not explain that they were Animagi, because that would mean confessing that they had broken Dumbledore's trust. He convinced himself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Arts (_ As if! He would cut his arms off first. _) he learned from Lord Voldemort(S_ irius hated him with passion that was at par with his hatred his mother) _, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it._

 _Then he explained that Scabbers, Ron's rat pet, was actually an Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew (_ That dimwit managed to become an animagus at 15! How? The other three must have helped him. _) . He went on explaining that Peter betrayed James and Lily Potter to Voldemort (_ that bloody Lump again! And she was going to murder Peter when she sees him again. That absolute coward weakling!) _, killed twelve Muggles with one curse, faked his own death, and took the form of a rat, framing Sirius for everything (_ Huh? That was ingenious. So this rat betrayed his friends, faked his death and blamed everything on Sirius, leaving Harry with those appalling relatives, who may or may not be her. While saving his hide!) _._

 _Severus Snape (_ he really just grew in height, didn't he? He still had the unshampooed bat-hair, with all black clothes and a cape, with his infamous permanent sneer. _) appeared from under the Invisibility cloak (_ why was he in possession of Potter Heirloom?) _that Harry had left near the tree; tied Remus up; and while engaged in a vociferous argument with Harry and Hermione (s_ he was proud to see the children standing up to an arsehat of an adult, who refuses to see the truth in face of his own beliefs and hatred! _), he attempted to arrange to send Sirius and Remus to Azkaban Prison (_ Oh, she would like to see him do that! _). However, before he could give Sirius and Remus to the Dementors (_ Dementors! oh Merlin! _), Harry, Ron, and Hermione simultaneously disarmed Snape (_ Nix whooped and cheered. _)._

_"You shouldn't have done that. You should have left him to me.", Sirius said with gratitude and love shining in his eyes. Ah, she could see glimmer of Sirius she knew._

_"I didn't do it for you. I still don't trust you.", Harry said with steel in his voice. "Then, it time to show the proof.", Sirius replied with determination. Nix_ _watched as that rat transformed into Peter. She heard his weak defense. His need to stay alive at all cost, even his friends lives._

Nix doesn't think she has ever felt this much anger or hatred for anyone, even Sirius's mother (although she came close) _._ This selfish weak traitor has made everyone,  _everyone's_  life hellish version and was defending himself based on the fact that he wanted to live. He lived as a freaking rat for thirteen years. He betrayed and murdered his friends for that! 

_Nix watched on as the three children believed Remus and Sirius. She watched with vindictive pleasure at how Peter cried and begged everyone and was rebuffed by them all. Her pride in Harry grew as he refused to let his father's two best friends become murders for a traitor like him. She followed the group as they trudged towards Hogwarts._

_She was amused to see Sirius making Snape bump and scratch, repeatedly, his head all the way through the tunnel. She was happy as Sirius asked Harry if he wanted to live with him, once he was free. She was almost dancing when Harry replied in affirmative in a second, saying he would leave the Dursleys (I_ T WASN'T HER! IT WASN'T HER! Her nephew DIDN'T HATE HER!! She didn't turn into a monster! _) at a moments notice. She saw Sirius glow at Harry's enthusiasm._ She was delighted at how the whole thing turned out. She would have hugged them both, if she could have. 

Her delight turned into horror. _Remus transformed in middle of the ground and went to attack the kids; Sirius transformed and they both fought; Ron passed out in pain; that rat ran away; werewolf ran into forest (_ Remus was fighting his werewolf urge. Her heart swelled.) _; Sirius limped towards the lake. She followed Harry as he ran after Sirius, only to see hundreds of dementors closing in on them. She watched in desperation and frustration as both Harry and Sirius were almost kissed by Dementors._

 _She looked in shock as a patronus Prongs drove all of the dementors off, and saved Harry and Sirius. She saw Harry standing on both sides of the lake. She walked to the other Harry and saw Hermione rushing in. (_ One good thing about being in Visions, she could walk on everything without an issue) _. She heard in astonishment about the time tuner explanation of her nephew. She didn't think she has ever been so proud of her nephew._

First, he broke international law went back in time (A Marauder, through and through), then saved his godfather and himself from a dementors kiss, and produced a patronus at thirteen years so powerful that it drove away hundreds of dementors alone. He was powerful, courageous and so caring of people!

Nix then saw them free Sirius out of prison and set him free on a Hyppogriff, which they had also saved from false prosecution. Nix heart melted for her nephew. He was amazing, brilliant, a fantastic human being. Nix swore on everything she ever loved to give her nephew a bright and happy life, free of bloody Lump and cowardly rats. 

* * *

When she came back to her sense, wolf, stag and grim were all staring at her. Grim came forward and bumped her slightly. She had been crying in her animagius form. 

She shook her head and looked at Moony. Stag nodded, bumped Moony slightly with his hind and the two were off to playing again.

Buttercup flew and sat at a corner of room, so as to not disturb them. Padfoot came and sat next to her. Buttercup buried herself in his fur. 

Next morning when they transformed back, she told the guys she needed to speak with G3. The three boys refused to let her go alone. They trudged inside castle together. No one commented that Nix was all but plastered to Sirius. They assumed the vision had something to do with Sirius and she needed to ascertain his presence. Sirius kept am arm around her.

G3 was surprised to see the children in his office so early. His surprise turned to deep concern when he saw Nix's expression. He asked boys to sit down in his office. He called Madam Pompey to check Remus in his office itself.

As soon as Nix reached the warded room, she started to pace and said,

"The reason why James and Lily were killed was because Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper. Except he was a spy for Lord Voldemort, no...Lump. I refuse to call that deformed dude anything else! He was their best friend!  _Best!_  And he decided that saving his own hide was more important than saving a baby and his best friends. He cheerfully sold them out!"

"That cowardly arsehole blew up a street, killed 12 people, blamed it on Sirius and vanished by cutting his finger off. Hence, claiming his own death. Sirius went to Azkaban for  _twelve years. Twelve_! For a crime he didn't commit! Harry went to his horrible, appalling relatives. I don't know, where I am? Why I didn't step in to do something? I am fairly certain that I have died before all this began or I won't have let half these things happen!"

"Sirius broke out of Azkaban to save Harry from Peter, who has positioned himself to deliver Harry to Lump, once he comes back! After everything that bloody shit did, he had the  _nerve_ to betray them again!"

"Peter ran away that night; then proceeded to resurrect Lump in all his deformed glory; tired to chock Harry later in a torture cell! That human garbage will caused so much pain to people who called him their _best friend!_  All because he wanted to live. He lived as a _rat_ for  _thirteen years!!_ He then lived as a bloody slave for Lump for next sad 4 years of his life! He denied Harry a happy,  _safe_ and loved childhood. He denied James and Lily of watching their amazing son grow up. He made Sirius suffer so much! Remus was all alone with no friends or family or money!"

"I hate him! Change his dorm room, or I will murder him! I am not joking about this! If he even comes close to my brother or his happiness, I will torture him and kill him slowly. I don't care about my soul or anything! I want them happy and alive! And Peter Pettigrew needs to be gone from their life!"

G3 looked grave and nodded. G3 knew Nix doesn't hate anyone, if she does she has a bloody good reason. Her reasoning here seems valid enough. He would do some changes to dorm setting. He was sure Nix would reside there frequently later anyways. He made a deal with her to be patient and calm till end of this year.

* * *

Remus watched as Sirius paced agitated and James was staring at the fire blankly. They were all worried and anxious about Nix. Dumbledore came down looking thoughtful and grave.

Dumbledore spoke,"Nix had a very disturbing vision. It involves Peter Pettigrew. Nix is very angry at him for things she has seen him do in her vision. It is vital to keep them apart. She has suggested that Peter's dorm be changed next year. Do any of you have a problem with that?" 

They all shook their head. It would actually make things easier for them. Peter was nice and all, but he wasn't in the group. He would get agitated when the boys would talk in half sentences and expression. He was too needy as well. They had to talk, most of the time, vaguely to keep their secrets intact. They all had their secrets and troubles. Peter would try to pry it out of them, constantly. Nix was the nicest and most laid back person. But if she was so mad at Peter that they both had to be kept apart, then clearly he wasn't a very nice person in Nix's visions.  

James looked up at the warded room and said quietly,"She is still very mad." Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, she is trying to work her anger out. She would join you guys in a while. Let's have breakfast till then."

They all were at the end of their breakfast, when James hand, which had last piece of his waffle, was turned around by someone. Nix ate the waffle with a smile. They all breathed in relief to see Nix was smiling and had mirth dancing in her eyes." You were right! Food does taste amazing from someone else's plate!"

James chuckled and then enveloped her in a bear hug that lasted for a while. They broke apart, then did their twin-speak thing and broke into a smile. Remus got up and hugged her too. Sirius was looking at her. She looked back and sighed.

"Peter betrays his friends to Lump. He doesn't destroy one life, he manages to destroy several lives to save himself. He tortures and tries to kill anyone, no matter how important they are to him, to save his own bloody useless hide. I won't ever forgive that. Also, his animagus is a rat. What does that tell you about him?", Nix said with anger coming back in her eyes. Remus saw Sirius stare at her for a while, then nod and hug her. They somehow managed to keep Peter away from Nix. 

They had noticed that Peter has been trying to cozy up with James, so he took the lead. James did like Peter. Peter was sweet and nice. He really wasn't responsible for what will happen yet; they could change him. But Remus knew that James would never, ever do anything to make Nix uncomfortable. As they often said, they were each other's half. James loved his sister fiercely to the point that if he had to give up even his most priced possession for her or his life, he would do it in a blink.

James took the mantle, supported by Remus. Nix and James had some intense discussion about that. Remus saw as James calmly explained his reasons to Nix, who was pissed off about something. But she seemed to be calmer after James promised her that he would never involve Peter in his life as more than a mere acquaintance.

Sirius decided to stay away. Remus knew that Sirius was taking it personally that the vision about Peter had made Nix so upset and put her in such a turmoil. So Sirius avoided Peter. Of course, the upside was that he spent more time with Nix. Remus was sure that had nothing to do with his decision..at all.  _Adorable puppy._

James was very subtly moving Peter closer to the other group of boys. Peter did spend most of the time with them, anyways. The Marauders started to voice their sadness, very casually, that Peter had to stay away from his friends because his dorm was different. They were doing they to make sure when the dorm change happens Nix is not blamed.

No one said anything when Nix bunked in with Sirius for couple of weeks straight, sometimes with James joining them too. Remus was so amused to see the beaming smile and bounce in Sirius's steps during that time. Sirius was literally glowing with happiness.  _Really, adorable puppy._

* * *

"Hey guys, which subjects are you choosing?", Lily asked the Marauders anxiously. She didn't know what to pick. The third year additional subject form was clutched in her hand.

Remus and Nix were bunking on Remus bed and looked as if in middle of a discussion; while James and Sirius were sketching on some paper on James's bed. James sat up straight and ruffled his hair. The other Marauders looked at him amused. 

James cleared his throat (Lily saw from corner of her eyes, that Nix give him an encouraging look), "Come sit down, here. It could be a long discussion with those two misplaced Ravenclaws, here." James voice broke at the end. Remus and Nix stuck their tongue out at him, while Sirius snickered. Lily went and sat next to James, who smiled at her brightly.

"Right. The subjects. I forgot about them! I am pretty sure we lost our forms somewhere.", Sirius said, indicating at James and himself. Looking completely unbothered by it. She wondered if anything bothered them anymore. Well, she supposed, after getting the number of detentions they got, one had to get immune to punishments. 

Remus snorted,"That's why  _I_ took them as soon as they were given out. Right, (distributing the forms)so the options are Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures." They all hurdled on James bed.

Sirius said,"Now, divination  is useless, unless you have the 'inner eye'." He rolled his eyes at that. James tried to look at his third eye (both his eyes were up near the start of nose). He looked forlorn at not having a third eye. Lily laughed at his antics. James beamed at that. The rest of them looked away to hide their smiles.

"Muggle studies for you might be a bit tedious. You already know everything they would teach.", James said shyly.

"The other three are interesting. Care of  magical creatures is essentially about various magical animals in our world, which can be quite useful.", Said Nix

"Study of Ancient Runes is the study of Runic sculptures, or Runology.", Remus started reading the brochure.

"Ancient Runes is a mostly theoretical subject that studies the ancient runic scripts of magic.", Nix elaborated

"It is said to be interesting but it is really theoretical.", James added

"Arthimancy is quite challenging from what I have gathered. It involves a lot of  disarming, arming, identifying spells, wards, curses, powerful symbols or anything magic related, really. It is important if you want to be a curse breaker in Gringotts.", Sirius explained

"It is quite intriguing, you know. Every magic is different..", Nix started

"..Everyone has a different persona..", James added

"..magical signature, aura..."

"..Similarly, every magic object is unique.."

"...to counter them, to place them.."

"...to understand their meaning.."

"..it also gives an understanding on ancient magic too.'

"It is a difficult and a tough field."

"It keeps you on your toes."

"The curse breakers are considered at par with Aurors, who are magic police officers and/or magic ministers.", James finished.

"Alchemy is to do about materials and discovering new things. It is very difficult and needs patience and innovation. But can be very interesting if you get it.", Remus explained

Lily nodded. They all filled their subjects forms. They all picked Care of Magical creatures and Arthimancy. James and Sirius selected Muggle Studies additionally; while Remus, Lily and Nix selected Study of Ancient Runes as their third subject. Remus took all their forms and kept it carefully in his bag. The other three Marauders bowed down to the 'Highness Moony'. Lily smiled at their beautiful friendship.

No one in school was surprised to know that the twins and Sirius have topped the year again. Lily was proud to be next in line of honors. It annoyed studious students. They all knew that those three still were not studying. Sev was severely pissed off at that and claimed that it was all fixed. There was no way those three were that smart! Lily sighed.

On the last day of school, Lily found Nix sitting alone near lake looking in deep thought. Lily went and sat next to her happily. Lily joined Nix silently in her pursuant of deep thoughts. She had noticed that Nix would get pensive quite a lot.

When she asked James about it, he replied with an uncharacteristic 'Sirius'ness that Nix was in a terrible accident during one of their mother's ruin site jobs and was hospitalized for a month after that. Since then, Nix liked to think deeply for a while. 

Lily knew from James expression that it was a very critical injury. She couldn't even begin to imagine what toll it took on James to watch his twin on a hospital bed. She understood James fierce protectiveness because Lily felt same for her fiery friend at that moment.

Nix was a wonderful friend to have. She didn't care that Lily was a muggleborn or a bookworm. Nix never really cared about that. She simply picked a topic that would interest the other person and went with it.

She.. _they..._ were nothing like what Sev told her purebloods were like. Slytherins were exactly like Sev told her. She has never been more happy about the fact that she was a Gryffindor. She would have withered away in Slytherin house for sure. She also loved that despite being the goofiest people alive, the Marauders were also very mature and wise in things that mattered. They were unafraid to stand firmly behind what they believed was right. But if proved wrong, they were the first one to acknowledge it too. They were all curious and extremely mischievous  by nature.   

After a while of silent pursuant, Nix turned her head towards Lily and smiled. Lily smiled at the serene expression on her friend's face. 

Lily hesitantly asked," Nix, would you like to come over during summer to my house? We could have a girl slumber party or you could just come for a day. Its just I never had a magical friend over and I don't know the protocol to invite someone over. Do I need to write a letter asking your parents for permission? Or....."

Nix placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her rambling. Lily flushed but smiled. "There is no protocol, Lily. I would love to come over for a slumber party at your place. It would be great! I never really had only girls slumber party. Some boys were always there. It could be fun! We can fix the date and duration during holidays. This is so amazing!! Can we go to some muggle places?", Nix said excitedly. Lily smiled brightly.

Then her smile dropped. Nix looked at her encouragingly to speak up," Its just my elder sister is very unpleasant about anything magic. She might make a scene. Maybe you shouldn't come. It would end in disaster." Lily was so disappointed. She just needed Petunia to become a little bit understanding. 

Nix shrugged and said," You never had a conversation with Lady Longbottom or Lady Bones or, Lady Black (Merlin! I hope you never have the misfortune of encountering  _her._ ). Don't worry, Lily, growing up as heiress to one of the most powerful pureblood families has made me prepared to meet unpleasant relatives and people. You shouldn't let others' jealousy, problems and pettiness, stop you from living a happy life. Trust me, life is too beautiful to waste on such people."

"I agree!", Sirius said, plopping down beside Nix. Sirius dropped his arm around her shoulder and gave Nix a kiss on cheek. Nix turned slightly pink. James and Remus voiced their agreement as well. Remus sat beside Sirius and James sat next to her. Nix was not the only one pink by then. The three were carrying food from the kitchen. They started to eat the munchies and were having pleasant small talks when a shadow fell over them.

Sev was standing there, arms crossed and sneer on his face, in all black. "Hey Sev! Want to join us?", Lily asked pleasantly but noticed how James stiffened next to her.

"No! I rather not put myself down to their level.", Sev said rudely.  _Sev! Be nice for once!_

 _"_ That's too bad. Its wonderful down here.", Sirius said cheerfully, as laid his head down on Nix's lap. Nix lovingly ran her hands through his hair. Remus nodded and laid on Sirius's stomach. James grinned and laid on Remus's stomach. Then the three started to hum and sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," from Song of the South. 

Lily and Nix laughed at the goofballs. Lily saw Sirius watching Nix laughing so fondly, that she had to look away from it. It felt too private. Merlin! These two!

Sev looked absolutely disgusted by them. She could see he was going to say something mean or snarky, so she quickly said goodbye to the Marauders; and dragged Sev away. She did see James look disappointed and Nix patting his hair in comfort. Only if all her friends got along, life would be so much nicer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, the vision is different from the actual scene.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	27. Courting

Sirius was happy. If his tail was visible, it would wagging so hard right now. He and Nix were strolling with their arms around each other. They waved to Hagrid, who was tending to his garden. Sirius had suggested an exploration of forest which turned into an afternoon stroll, since the others were busy.

The others weren't busy, but they were busy in their plan of moving Peter towards other guys of their year. Seeing Nix's anger grow as she saw Prongs in company of that mingebag git Peter, Sirius decided to distract her. Sirius could understand her anger. He felt angry too. He still remembers the first night she bunked in his bed after that bloody vision.

Nix looked surprised to see him wide awake as she opened his bed curtain that night. Nix hesitantly whispered," Is it okay, if I bunk with you? I..Sorry to wake you, I will go to Prongs....I shouldn't have woken you..Go back to sleep..".

She had hardly been able to turn when Sirius grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her inside with a smile. She smiled in relief.  _Idiot girl, as if he could ever tell her no. Especially, for spending time with him._  

Sirius laid on his back and Nix was on his front, hugging him. He ran soothing circles on her back and sighed at peace that spread through him. "You want to talk?", Sirius whispered. 

Nix looked at him for a long time and then, sat up. Nix waved her hand and he knew she has warded the area. Her ability to do difficult spells non-verbally and wandless so casually, made her very, _very_ attractive to him. Sirius sat up too and put pillow on his lap for good measure. 

"I am not the aunt that raises Harry.", saying that Nix started to tug the blanket and avoided eye contact. Sirius waited but after Nix didn't elaborate for a while, he said,"Peter is the reason for Prongs and Lily's death, isn't he? That why you hate him so vehemently?"

Nix looked at him in surprise and Sirius got up to kill Peter, taking her surprise as confirmation. 

"It's not going to be him, anymore!  Sirius! You guys are not close to him. He is not even your friend! He can't betray you, if he is not your friend. I am having issue separating my vision from reality, as it is. I need you keep a cool head on this. Please!", Nix begged him. She pushed him back, gently, onto the bed.

Sirius breathed heavily and nodded. They both laid down again and sleep slowly overtook them. He was woken by someone saying his name. He saw Nix, still asleep, muttering his name desperately.

"Buttercup! Buttercup! Hey! Wake up! It's a nightmare! Nix..", Sirius kept saying this and shaking her slightly.

Nix opened her beautiful, pained, teary blue eyes with a gasp. She looked around wildly. Then launched herself on top of him, showering his face with kisses. She, then, hugged him real tight and buried her face in his chest. Sirius was surprised but let her take the comfort, while secretly basking in her love. He kissed top of her head. Moving his arm up and down on her back, and he kept saying 'I am right here, Buttercup', 'I am fine!', 'James is fine', 'Remus is fine', 'its alright.', till he felt her fall back to sleep. 

He hated the fact that she was having nightmares but was psyched that he would wake up every morning with her in his arms and to her smiling face. Sirius heart would do somersaults at night as she hugged him close to sleep. 

He knew he couldn't keep his goofy grin off his face, much to amusement of Moony, Prongs, Lily, Marlene, Cissy and Professor McGonagall. He was happy, so they could all piss off. Nix has taken to give a bear hug to all the three boys every morning. They happily returned it.

Nix had, also, been making sure that three of them ate properly. Padfoot and Prongs ate like a whale, but Moony ate like a human being. She critically looked at Remus and tutted. "You are too thin. You need to eat more." saying this she piled Moony's plate till it was overflowing. Moony, who was shocked and touched at her concern, ate everything on his plate. Her constant nagging was making Moony healthier. Moony confessed to Sirius that it was making his transformation easier as well.

Sirius and the boys were concerned about what Nix saw in the vision. Especially after seeing Nix's reaction on the first morning after the vision, when she met Peter. Nix looked ready to beat the crap out of Peter. Luckily, Peter's attention was busy on finding his lost homework, then noticing Nix's anger directed towards him.

Sirius and James took Nix away from Peter, while Remus chatted with Peter. Sirius watched the heated discussion between James and Nix. They both came to a truce when James promised Nix that he would keep his distance from Peter; and Nix promised not to kill him,  _yet_.

No one has seen Nix this angry. It was downright scary. He hoped in future, he was never at the receiving end of it because he was sure he won't come out winning, or possibly, alive from _that_ encounter. Prongs agreed and Moony looked highly amused.

Sirius was spending almost every minute with Nix. He was living a dream! She has been bunking in his bed for over a week now; and he has never slept more peacefully in his life. She would sleep hugging him close as nightmares plagued her sleep. James would join them often. Even, Remus joined them once when she had a particularly nasty one. Thank Merlin, for inventing engorging spell(expansion spell) or the situation would have been a pickle. Peter had not been happy the next day about being left out. Sirius didn't really give a damn! Peter was lucky to still be breathing!

Anyways...after a slow stroll through the Hogwarts grounds, Sirius and Nix decided to fly for a while. They stopped at seeing two people going at it against a tree, near the forest edge. The couple were most probably in fourth or fifth year. He saw Nix look happily and with a bit of awe at I-don't-need-air-I-am-happy-snogging-till-I-die-couple.  

"Merlin! They need to breath! Snogging can't be that good!", Sirius exclaimed. Then turned beet red at Nix's amused expression. "I just..(he had to clear his throat twice)....I just mean that it looks like he is devouring that poor girl." He said awkwardly. Nix started to laugh.

"You really don't who they are, do you?", an amused Nix asked. 

"Not from here! The dude is blocking my view with his long golden hair...Oh! Sodding hell! Are you kidding me? Lucius Malfoy!!! Oh,  _yuck!_ , that better not be Cissy.....I will kill him if he cheating on Cissy!", Sirius said, striding fast towards the kissing couple, dragging Nix along.

Nix asked with a laugh,"So you want him to be snogging Cissy or not?"

Sirius paled. It _was_ Cissy and Lucius Malfoy going at it like horny rabbits. He heard Cissy and Malfoy both moan loudly. He shuddered. This was  _not_ something he wanted to see or hear his sister do. Ever. He turned around to go to back to lake. They will have a round of flying later, not now. For now, the lake will have to suffice.He dragged hysterical Nix back to their tree spot near the lake. 

When she calmed down a bit, Nix delightedly squealed in a high pitch. If he wasn't a dog, he won't have heard it. He looked at her amused. She looked so happy and excited about whatever it was that she was happy about. He looked at her questioningly. 

Nix replied with a bright smile,"Finally, it happened! I was worried that Lucius-ous hair would be too caught up in the  _proper_ etiquette to tell Cissy that he was madly in love with her. She was so stressed that he wasn't interested in her like that anymore. Well, I am pretty sure, now, she won't be stressed about that. This is so great! I am so happy for her!". She started to gleefully singing 'Cissy and Lucius sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!'

It was nice to see her this happy and playful again. She has been in prickly mood since  _that vision._ But, seeing Cissy and Malfoy suck each other's face made him wish for a oblivion charm, because  _urghhh....._ Seeing his contorted face, Nix started to laugh again. 

"You know Cissy defies  _Lord Voldemort, that obsessed Lump dude_  (seeing his intrigue, she elaborated). They are in the forbidden forest, along with a lot of death eaters, Harry is lying on the ground and Lump has been hit by something too. I hoped it was a spell to get his nose to regrow, but no such luck. Honestly, the guy is scary looking without the bloody nose. But that is not the point of story....Where was I? Oh, yeah..So he asks Cissy to see if Harry is still alive. I was so scared that, that nutter had finally succeeded in killing Harry. But Cissy shielded him from view of others, asked if her son was still alive. Receiving Harry's answer. She looked in the eye of the 'biggest self-proclaimed occulumency expert', and told him that Harry was dead. I think she saved his life! I knew she was badass underneath all that properness!" Nix finished happily and leaned on Sirius's front.

Sirius was proud of his sister. He mused while running a hand lightly along Nix's arm. Cissy saves the life of a person, Sirius was sure he would love 'deerly', after all it was Prongs's fawn. At least there was some good news lining up to a bloody awful summer. Apart from being in close proximity of their _kindest_ mother, Bella's wedding was around the corner too. Bella has decided to get married in June end itself. Not because she was desperate to marry Rudolph but to join that Lordy dude. That was some twisted relation between those three crazy-heads. But, hey, to each its own. Sirius was sure Rosier would stick to his side like glue during the wedding. He groaned. Sirius was suddenly stuck by an idea. He felt a bit apprehension but decided to plow through with it.

"Hey, Buttercup? (She hummed in answer) Would you like to be my date for Bella's wedding? It's just that it would be boring. I know you are coming, anyways. I mean, I know, you don't need an invitation. You already have one. Its just mother will try to set Rosier with me again, and I would love it if you could be with me. I understand if..." He stopped at Nix kiss on his cheek. He turned red, partly in embarrassment due to his awkward babbling, and partly because his stomach was doing flips at her kiss and sweet smile.

"Padfoot, I would love to go to the wedding as your date.", Nix said with a bright smile. His response smile dazed her a bit. "Any color preference?", Nix asked casually, though he could see happiness brimming in her eyes. She leaned on his front, he placed his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. 

"Its a Black and Green theme wedding.", Sirius replied. What else was anyone expecting? Bella was insane all the way through. Her love for Black house and Slytherin was stronger than her love for Dark Magic. Although, he would wager that that Lordy dude might be winning the race for top place of affection in Bella's heart. He was sure Rudolph didn't even make the cut to the top ten things she loved. 

"Black colored theme for a wedding?", Nix asked incredulously and then snorted.

"She loves black; she likes Dark Magic; she is a Black. I am pretty sure, she is in love with her amazing, brilliant and world-changing  _Dark Lord._ So black it is. And green because  _Slytherin!",_  Sirius explained his crazy cousin's thinking. Nix chuckled. 

* * *

Orion was dressed to the nine, waiting for his family to bloody come down so that they could go to the wedding. His wife came down first, looking regal and beautiful in a green Cinderella gown. He smirked at her with glint in his eyes. She blushed. He felt proud that even after all these years, he had that effect on his wife.

He knew that he and the boys have moved away from Walla. But, her already nasty temper has become nastier. The children has been avoiding her like plague but seeing the raging fire in her eyes, he wasn't surprised. The kids would generally spend their whole day in the garden outside or in the library. 

He had a charm installed in the garden and his sons' room, after Sirius complained about Rosier refusing to leave  _his_ bedroom and following him everywhere. Sirius angrily told Orion that he wouldn't allow any girl to ruin the place where Nix and he would live later. Orion agreed to install the charms. No need to test Sirius's infamous anger on unsuspecting guests or poor lovestuck girl. The charm, now, only allowed people his sons' wanted in their room. It didn't make a difference to him, he was sure the family could still enter. 

Orion wondered which one of his sons will come down earlier. He was sure it would be Reg. Sirius would be making sure that he looked perfect for his  _date._ Orion was still amused as he thought back to how Sirius has sprung on his mother that Nix was his date. 

"Bella is going to have a proper wizarding wedding. With no muggles. Thank Merlin! Except for that mudblood Tonks, everyone would be of proper breed. This is how a wizarding wedding is supposed to be. No bad breeds. This is the effect of proper breeding, there is no trash in the group.", Walburga said excitedly.

"I didn't know we were inviting animals to the wedding. Did I miss a letter or family meeting regarding it?", Sirius asked confused. Orion and Walburga looked confused too.

"You know, mother, animals breed. Humans, reproduce. So who's _breeds_ will be joining our nicest cousin's wedding?", Reg asked his mother with straight face but Orion could see mirth in his and Sirius's eyes. Orion hide his smile behind his glass.

"Insolent brats! I was talking about proper brought up pureblood children, not misleading hooligans like the Potters. (The kids looked at her amused. Walla face became redder) You, Sirius, would ask Bloom Rosier to be your date for the wedding. We need to send a proper signal to the world that even if you were sorted in that wretched house, you are still Slytherin through and through. Reg, you could keep lovely Amycus Carrow company. She is in your year and was sorted in Slytherin.", Walla finished smugly. Reg looked ready to puke. Sirius had a peculiarly smug expression.

"Oh, mother, you should have told me earlier! I have already secured a date with a proper pureblood girl. She is from one of the pureblood families. As you know a Black never backs down from his promises.", Sirius said solemnly, looking very sad at not being able to accompany Gloom...damn it...Bloom Rosier. Orion would bet his family heritage on who Sirius was taking as his date.

"Right, you are Sirius. A Black never backs down from his promise. Which proper pureblood family are you taking? Rowle? Budstrode? Selwyn?", Walla looked expectantly at Sirius. His wife has clearly lost all her sanity to forget that Nix is a pureblood too. Sirius never said scared pureblood family. He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

"Phoenix Potter would be my date, mother.", Sirius said happily. Reg whooped from his seat and got up to give Sirius a hug. Orion felt proud too. Finally, Sirius was taking steps towards securing his bond.

Walla looked like she has been hit by brick in face,"ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU WILL NOT TAKE THAT UNCOUTH GIRL TO THE WEDDING AS A BLACK HEIR'S DATE! SHE IS NOT A PROPER PUREBLOOD! SHE DOESN'T ACT LIKE A BLOODY LADY! SHE IS NOT GOING WITH YOU! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT! IT'S A BLACK CELEBRATION OF PROPER WEDDING AMONG TWO PUREBLOOD FAMILIES. I WILL NOT HAVE IT TAINTED BY THOSE MANIPULATING BLOOD TRAITORS!! YOU ARE SHAME OF MY FLESH! YOU WILL NOT BE SHAME OF THIS PRESTIGIOUS HOUSEHOLD! ACT LIKE A BLOODY HEIR OF THE HOUSE!!!! IMBECILE! TRAITOR!!" 

Sirius and Reg looked completely entertained by her rant. Sirius said with a smile,"Mother, I  _am_ the heir of the Black House. I don't have to follow you. I need to follow the Black Lord's advice, not yours. Dad has already given me permission. He has even agreed to go shopping with me to buy her something. And, mother,  _she_ will always be the one I choose. No matter what! Get it out of your system because you will not really be able to yell there. After all, it is a proper  _Black wedding._  Oh, and dad you might want to start marriage negotiation of Malfoy and Cissy too.", Sirius added with a wink. Reg wrinkled at that. Orion laughed. Walla had screamed herself hoarse that night. Orion gave her a glass of water and went off to sleep. 

Reg came into the dining room looking dapper in light green colored room, with Black family symbol embroidered on the chest. "You look good, son. Green certainly suits you.", Orion said pleasantly at which Reg smiled. 

"See, if you had been in Slytherin, you would have prospered more!", Walla interjected harshly. Reg rolled his eyes and ignored her. Reg looked at him amused.

"You might wanna get Sirius down, dad. He is frantically trying on different robes. He wants to look good, you see. We might be here all night", Reg said with a happy smile. Orion chuckled and got up to get his heir.

It looked like Sirius has finally chosen a robe to be dressed. It was Black robe with green in artistic design. He had his hair up is pony and had apparently emptied whole bottle of perfume on himself. Orion waved his wand and the whole smell got sucked out from the room and his son. 

"Dad, why did you do that? Now I would stink and she won't dance with me!", Sirius whined as he started to look, frantically, for another bottle of perfume. 

Orion gently made Sirius sit down and said with a smile,"You don't want to smother her with that much perfume, son. It would repeal her faster. (At Sirius's horrified expression, he chuckled.) Here, let me put decent amount of perfume on you. Alright? There you go. That is more than enough. Now remember this is your first official courting with Nix. You need to follow the proper protocol. So that after three such meetings, Fleamont and I can start your formal marriage negotiations." Sirius beamed at that. Orion smiled brightly at his happy son. 

"Now, some things you need to know, now that you are growing up, you will have certain urges. (Orion chuckled at Sirius's red face) So you need to remember these things. First of all, always respect the girl's decision. Take it at her pace. No need to be frustrated or annoyed if she is taking it slow. For girls being physical is different than for boys. Always use protection and take your time. I have given you that book to help you. Learn the protection and other spells from it. It would be beneficial. Or you can ask Cissy or Andy more about how to treat a girl better. I would have said to ask your mother but she would boil both of us alive before talking about anything like that."

"Alright! This was all Euphemia told me to tell you. She also said that you can ask her anything if you have doubts or confusion. But remember Sirius, be a gentlemen! The key, according to Fleamont, is to pay attention your girl and be chivalrous. Come on, lets go. Its time to meet the Potters. We can't be late! Stop looking so worried and fretful. You have known her for over two years now. Be you! Don't overdo, anything. It will be good, Alright?".

Sirius nodded nervously. Then, Sirius squared his shoulders and with the swagger that only Sirius Black can pull off, went down to the dinning room. Orion huffed a laugh.  _Well it was certainly going to be interesting._

Walla was fuming. Reg was humming happily, completely ignoring his mother. Reg smiled brightly at his dad and went to hug his brother. Orion saw Reg give Sirius an encouraging nod. Orion knew that Reg was as excited about this as Sirius was. Reg loved Nix and he couldn't wait for her join the family. Orion cleared his throat, bought out the portkey and they left for Potter manor.

They arrived at the Potter Manor to see Fleamont waiting for them. Orion went to hug him and then his sons hugged him too. Euphemia, smiling brightly, came inside the living room looking beautiful as always. She was carrying a tray of cookies which saw his sons rush to her. Reg took tray from her gently, while Sirius hugged her; they repeated the process for Reg. Sirius was happily munching on the cookies, when he stopped in middle of stuffing another cookie in his mouth as James and Nix arrived. Orion smiled at his future in-laws. Let the future take it's course then.

* * *

The twins have both grown in height. James was dressed smartly in black robe and his hair still wild. He looked ruggedly handsome. Although, he was squinting a lot.

Nix looked graceful in her full length black-green dress. She had a slit open till her knee at one side and there were small triangle cuts in her dress. Her dress was high neck and backless. Her hair was in messy bun style with minimalist makeup and high heels.  Nix was slightly taller now, and Reg could see that she has started to resemble a young woman. 

Sirius mouth was ajar (a hypogriff could have landed in it) and his eyes were glazed. He had half cookie still in his mouth, a cookie suspended in air halfway to his mouth, and drool was coming out of his mouth. He looked awestruck to see Nix. Everyone was chocking back their laugh at Sirius's reaction (except mother, who looked miffed). Reg could understand Sirius's reaction. Nix looked stunning.

Reg took pity on Sirius and went to hug Nix, to give Sirius time to gather himself. Orion took his lead and started a conversation with Nix. Meanwhile, James came and slapped Sirius, hard, on his back. Sirius snapped out of his stupor. He hurriedly swallowed his cookie, kept the plate aside and straightened himself out. He looked at James, as if asking if he was looking fine. James smiled fondly and straightened Sirius's robes a bit and brushed crumbs sticking on his face. James gave Sirius a mixture of encouraging and warning look, and pushed him towards Nix. 

Sirius nervously made his way towards Nix but got confident as he saw Nix reaction upon seeing him. Her mouth popped open and she was raking her eyes up and down his height. A faint blush was creeping up her face. 

It was unfair that his brother could look this handsome with some minor adjustments. His robe was well fitted and hair was pulled in a loose ponytail. It highlighted his prominent cheekbones and made his grey eyes stand out more. With his confidence and smile, he rivaled the handsomest of them all. 

Sirius stood in front of Nix and cleared his throat. Nix blushed prettily, Sirius looked smug. "Phoenix Euphemia Potter, it would be my honor, if you could join me as my date at my cousin's wedding?", Sirius said this while taking a bow and kissing her hand. Sirius looked up to see a blushing Nix reply,"Sirius Orion Black, the honor would be mine." She courtesy-ed. They both smiled brightly at each other and forgot about rest of the world. The formal initiation process was finished. 

Reg noticed the bittersweet look on the rest of the Potters' face. Reg side hugged James, who looked most conflicted by future of the interaction that was happening. Reg also noticed dad looking at the Potters with a thoughtful expression; and his _loveliest_  mother looking at the destined lovers with contempt.

"Well, if all this nonsense is over, we have a wedding to go to! Blacks can't arrive late at their own family member's wedding!", came the whipping voice of their proper _breed_ mother. Everyone whipped their heads towards her. Most of them were shocked to see that she was still there.

Sirius sighed and said,"You can go two hours early, mother. I would be there on appropriate time with my date." Mother looked at the rest of two and saw their reluctance to leave early. She apparated with a final crack,"Well I hope you three still remember you are Blacks!".

They all breathed in relief as she left. Sirius turned excitedly towards Nix. "Hey! I almost forgot! I got you a gift!". He took the jewelry box out. There was a beautiful  Alexandrite gemstone and diamond embedded in delicate silver bracelet. The other was a glittering 'Heart of the Ocean' necklace.  Nix gave the necklace a passing glance and picked the bracelet. Sirius helped her put on the bracelet.

Nix got excited and said,"Oh! We have something for you two as well. Come on!". They followed the twins inside the Manor. He raised his eyebrows at his brother, who was drooling seeing Nix's backless back. His brother flushed. Reg coughed to cover his laugh.

Sirius refused to look at him after that for a while. _Ah, his brother was having some lower pants adjustment issues._ He grinned widely and whispered "Mother". The effect was instantaneous. Sirius looked conflicted between being glad and annoyed at him. Reg smiled and slugging his arm around his big brother's shoulder followed the twins. It was their life story, wasn't it? They both would follow the twins into war.   

The excited twins led the brothers to their workshop, or 'Disaster zone' as dubbed by MaPo. Reg saw so many muggle things lying around. Some looked complete, some were taken apart, some were in process of being something. Nix grabbed two boxes while James was bouncing on his feet. She brought out two Walkman. Reg knew Walkman were used to listen to music by muggles, by inserting some rectangular thing. The brothers didn't understand why this earned so much excitement from the twins. 

"You know its a Walkman and it is used to listen to music, right?", James asked them still excited. His excitement seems to be electrifying his hair. It was getting straighter and straighter as his excitement grew. 

At their nod, Nix said excitedly,"Well in muggle version you can have only a limited number of songs per cassette. We changed it!"

"We kind of incorporated various charms in it. See you can scroll through songs you want, new songs will be updated automatically." James showed them how to operate, how to install and see new songs. By now, James hair was looking like a porcupine has nestled there. It was difficult to focus on what he was saying with his hair looking like that. It was hilarious.   

"I also added a charm that would play music according to your mood. If you mood is bad, it would gradually shift to happy ones.", Nix said, showing them another button. 

"It also has a special feature of talking to us, like the charmed mirrors. So you know, you can call us whenever you want.", James said 'Nix!' evenly at the Walkman. A buzzer like sound was heard and Nix brought out her charmed mirror.  

"By us, we mean-me, Prong, mom, dad, Moony and your father." Nix said

"Reg, you can add your friends to the list too. Like this. We can add Andy and Cissy on this too!" , James said

"When you add a particular name on the list, the box will produce a mirror. You need to give it to that name's owner for them to use it."

"Although, you can talk to one person at a time only."

"Oh and limit of number of people you can call is 20. After 20 charm starts to get weak."

"There are also messages and songs recorded by us in the 'Flying stag' album."

"Oh, and it has an invisibility charm. It can only be seen by you and people you want it to be seen by. Like your room!",

"We thought of simply giving you an iPod, we would have to do a lot less changes in that. But it a strong muggle technology which probably won't work in Hogwarts or, even, your house." 

"So we used an analog device and added few charms and features to it.", 

"It also has a panic button. In case you need to get out of your house, you need to press this button thrice. It will bring you to the safe house in the Potter Manor." 

"Oh it can play music on speaker too!"

"That why it took us so much time. We had to add a lot of features without it freezing or malfunctioning."

"We tested it in Hogwarts to see if it was working completely or not. It worked after a few changes."

"We will give one to G3 and Moony too." 

"G3 will go bonkers!"

"Moony will add educational lessons to this. I just know it!", James finished. He looked distressed and resigned at their studious friend. 

Sirius and Reg hugged the twins tightly. Reg saw Sirius give Nix a smile that had her blushing below her neck too. Nix beamed back at him and James hair started to resemble back to his original bird nest again.

Nix eyes widened and she stood shoulder to shoulder with Sirius. Sirius has grown in height but was a half an inch or so shorter than Nix. She got really excited. She dragged Sirius next to James and him. "We will take a picture. I need a proof that there was a time when I was taller than you three. No matter how little that time was!". The boys posed grumbling for the flying camera while Nix's smile seemed to have split her face into half.

* * *

The wedding went better than he could have hoped. The wedding took place in The Lestrange Manor. The garden looked beautiful with all their blackness. Rudolph looked like a vampire with slick hair and all black robes. Sirius had to stop James from walking up to Rudolph to see if he had fangs. Ruffle..er.. _(_ whatever is his actual name is) Lestrange was mute and stoic as usual.  _Did he ever smile or speak?_

Bella's parents were proud and looked happy. Bella looked happy for first time since the infamous Christmas dinner.  _She did look[beautiful](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.pinimg.com/236x/62/9d/48/629d48fdabfa926bdda1ecb35aebb97f.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/7881368077160418/&h=472&w=236&tbnid=Bx-bzTpIt5IQCM&tbnh=318&tbnw=159&vet=1&docid=yx1foFUsihhKiM). _ Her dress was racy and exposed more skin to his eyes than he ever hoped to see of his cousin.  _It looked like his sisters were on a rampage to make him use oblivion charm on himself._  On Nix, though the dress would have been scintillating...ahem...but on his sister, it was a no-no.

There was the usual mother being miffed and unpleasant. Everyone gave her a wide breath, including father (who would migrate to the elder Potters' as much as he could). Andy and Ted were there, enduring scorn with a smile. It was hilarious to see all the muggleborn bigots curb their hatred with difficulty after realizing that Ted was an Auror now. Andy looked radiant and was gave Sirius a bear hug upon meeting. Andy told him with a pointed look at Nix, that if he needed advice, her and Ted's door was always open. He smiled at that. 

Cissy looked beautiful and classy, as always. She looked happy with Lucius-ous haired one as her date. It was fun teasing her about Lucius-ous haired one. Although, Sirius became beet red when she asked him, if he planned on kissing Nix tonight.  _He didn't! Not that he didn't want to. But according to the customs, he was supposed to a gentlemen._   _That was definitely not gentlemen thing. Was it?_ Sirius worriedly asked Cissy about it. She smiled fondly at him and left him to greet Nix. Cissy and Nix hugged each other and complimented each others dresses. They both looked beautiful. Sirius sighed.  _Damn you, Cissy! Now I will have real difficulty not kissing Nix._

It was Lucius who answered him,"You aren't allowed to kiss, as per the old traditions. You are supposed to be a gentlemen.  It used to the litmus test to test the character of the prospective groom. So, when you are on official dates, you can't be, umm...untoward towards the lady. It is, sometimes, almost painful to not to. They look so amazing during these events.". He finished looking longingly at Cissy.  _Bad! Bad imagines in his head!_  

Sirius knows that he acted like a complete buffoon when he saw Nix at the house. He couldn't help it. She looked breathtaking. Her dress fit her fit body like a glove. Her eyes were sparkling and looked bigger (he figured because of the mascara) and entrancing; her hair style suited her; her smile dazed him. The slit in her dress made his throat dry; and when he saw her backless back, it created a certain hard situation. Thankful she didn't notice or it would have been too awkward. Reg noticing has already made it awkward enough. He looked around and found her walking with James and Reg.

Sirius joined the twins and Uncle Alphard, who were being introduced by an excited Reg. Reg was thrilled that Sirius has taken the initiation process of making Nix is official sister. It was heart warming to see how much Nix meant to him. He was, also, amused by the 'Finally!' he got from almost everyone he met today. It was as if he was late to the party of which he was the host and the guest. Uncle Alph gave him a thumbs up when Nix was busy talking to James. Sirius felt giddy at that. Uncle Alph's opinions always mattered more than his whole family combined together. James and Uncle Alph clicked together and decided to have fun with the 'Sirius' folks in the gathering. They sat down and started to diss the uptight society and their rules.

Bella came to them with an evil smile, followed by a randy Lestrange.  _Urgh..that expression will haunt him!_ Nix stiffened slightly, and for a second anger akin to the one she got for Peter flashed through her face. She got a wickedly gleam in her eyes. He cleared his suddenly dry throat. He wished Bella a lovely marriage life. Nix did the proper wizarding customary bow. Sirius saw that she actually waved her hand in process. James bumped into Reg, who collided with a waiter, whose whole plate clattered to the ground. Everyone's attention went to the waiter and his plate. Nix had cast her spell and grinning wickedly in triumph. That smile did things to him.

He cleared his throat, again, and asked Nix for dance. She smiled brightly and joined in him in waltz (It was a traditional wizarding marriage, there was only going to be waltz. He used to find it boring, now he understood the beauty of it). He placed his hand on small of her back and took hold of her other hand. The hand that was touching her bare back spread fire in his body. He couldn't help but move his thumb in slow circles on her bare skin. Her mouth opened slightly at that and her iris darkened a bit. He pulled her closer to him and they danced for a long time. It was amazing! Dancing so close; looking at her absolutely beautiful face with her eyes sparkling with happiness and, dare he say, love. He was euphoric!

Nix had 'seen' Bella torturing a young girl to inches of her life using a cursed knife. Nix told him between their dance that she has cast a spell on Bella with a charm that would create loud Lion's roar, exclusively for her ears. It was charmed to roar whenever she said something derogatory to anyone. The charm can't be reversed and was so low-key that it was virtually undetected. She smiled wickedly again and Sirius almost leaned in to kiss her. Since, he couldn't do that, he pulled her closer than before. Damn! she was hot when she was being evil. 

That is when James buggered in. Sirius would have whacked any other guy who disturbed his dance with his soulmate. But, it was smirking James. _Prat._ Sirius sighed in defeat and reluctantly gave Nix to James. James grinned widely and Nix looked amused at their interactions.

The twins danced for a song, in which Sirius attempted to avoid a demanding Rosier. He actually didn't realize that Rosier was even there, till Reg pointed it out to him. He was busy watching Nix dance with her brother. He really loved them and their relation with each other. James was a gem of a person and he was honored to call him his brother (no matter what, James would always be his brother.), even if that little bugger interrupted his dance with Nix.

He gave Rosier a curtsy nod. "You look really handsome, Si. Would you dance with me?", Rosier asked Sirius.

Reg told him latter that she had been flirting with him, with batting eyelashes and puckered lips. Sirius was so busy watching Nix laugh freely at one of James's jokes, that it took him a while to, even, register that she was speaking words.

"No, I am spoken for.", Sirius replied coolly. He was annoyed. W _hy won't she leave him alone?_

"But, you are standing here alone. You can dance with me! It's the proper etiquette!", came the whine of Gloom Rosier. 

"I am not alone. I am standing with my brother. I am tired of all the dancing, Rosier. Please go away!", Sirius said sharply. He turned to ignore her, when MaPo came to them. 

"Sirius, Reg. My beautiful boys. Did you guys have fun? (Sirius started to feel blush rise on his cheeks at MaPo's suggestive tone). Anyone of you want to dance with me on the next song? Fleamont has grown older than my grandfather, it seems.", said MaPo teasingly.

"Hey! I danced for over an hour with you just now. Give me a break!", Fleamont's indignant complaint came from behind them. Sirius saw his amused dad pat his friend in comfort. 

"You already have been taking a break for half an hour, honey.", MaPo said sweetly with humor shining in her eyes. In response, PaPo muttered some choice words. 

"I would love to dance with you, Mama....Potter.", Reg stuttered as he bowed down to her. Euphemia Potter, the queen of the Black brothers' heart, smiled at him. They went to take place on the dance floor.

"Well the song has ended and you still standing here! Now, _alone!_ So dance with me!", Rosier said, stamping her foot on the ground. Sirius looked at her with arrogance and annoyance.

"He has been spoken for by me.", came James merry voice."Sirius, brother, want to scandalize the old traditional wizarding family with a sensual dance with me." James had an extremely mischievous look on his face.

"Sure brother. Lets get some lips talking. This wedding is getting dull.", Sirius said. Sirius smirked and taking hold of James hand, he left Rosier behind. After kissing Nix's cheek, he went to dance with his brother from an angelic mother. They both danced as a couple for few songs. The higher they heard the chatter buzz in the wedding gathering, the more intimately they danced with each other. Their eyes were glittering with amusement.

Sirius noticed that Nix had danced with his dad, her dad and Reg. She even danced with Uncle Alphard, Frank, Kingsley and Alice in the same song. A highly entertained MaPo asked James to dance with her. He found Nix chatting with Alice, Frank and Kingsley. She and Alice had their shoes off and were massaging their heels.

Sirius waved his wand and the girls looked at him in surprise. Then as one gave him a kiss on his cheeks. He flushed but smiled happily. His hand automatically wrapped around Nix. Alice cooed and Nix blushed. "What spell is that? How did you know that? Man, my legs feels as good as new! Why the hell do  _you_   _not_ know a spell like that?", Alice said directing the last part at Frank, who looked bewildered and a bit panicky.

"Dad showed me a spell during Andy's wedding. It was quite weak as Nix was still in a bit of pain. So I researched in library and found this one. It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?", Sirius asked Nix, who smiled brightly. He smiled and kissed her affectionately on her nose.

Frank and Kingsley groaned. "Oh Merlin! You are going to make us all look horrible, aren't you?", Kingsley asked Sirius, looking annoyed and entertained at same time. Sirius winked at him and everyone laughed. Andy, Ted, Uncle Alph, James joined them and they all enjoyed the rest of the wedding. After wedding was wrapped up and Bella left with an evil smirk, Blacks family, sans their darling mother, went to Potter Manor with the Potters. 

"It has been a pleasure, Phoenix. I hope, we can do this again sometime.", Sirius said kissing her cheek. 

"I hope so too, Sirius.", Nix winked at him. The first official outing was over. Everyone hugged each other and Blacks returned home. 

Sirius stared at his king size bed with disappointment and longing. He missed bunking with Nix in Hogwarts. Waking up next to her; seeing her with her impressive tangled hair in mornings; her grumpiness at being awoken; her smile at seeing him next to her; her hugs. She looked so comely today. She was blooming into a beautiful woman. Her curves were already forming as were her ...other areas. Her back was a piece of art.  _Stop! She is not ready yet. Control your randiness But she looked really beautiful._

He took out the Walkman, _such a thoughtful gift_ (he knew it was inspired by that late night talk they had about the horrible aunt). He opened the 'Flying stag' album. He pressed play for 'A thousand years' by Christina Perri that Nix sang for him. The words of the song touched his heart. He knew she has chosen these songs for a reason. He smiled brightly and prepared for the summer to come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	28. Evans

"Oh my! I think, this is marmalade flavored one. It is quite tasty.", Mrs Evans said while trying to find another one. 

Nix had a contorted face," You are lucky, Mrs Evans. I think I got soap flavor." Mrs Evans smiled and offered her another one of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Nix looked a bit apprehensive and took another red colored one. "Cherry! Thank Merlin!"

Mrs Evans smiled and took another one, "Phlegm! That is not something I thought I would ever taste." Mrs Evans said as she took another bean with enthusiasm. Nix smiled.   

Mrs Evans was an elegant beautiful woman with bright red hair. Nix could see that Lily has taken after her mother. They had the same vibrant green eyes, red hair and caring nature.

Nix has come over to the Evans house for a sleepover. Jamie had been adamant of not letting Nix go for more than two days in a row. Nix agreed, she knew Jamie had a deep anxiety separation regarding Nix, since the amulet incident. He had, for a long time, refused to even leave her side for more than few minutes. Gradually, the panic of losing her had reduced but he wouldn't tolerate more than a day's separation. She knew it would be a busy day for everyone else.They had few galas and business meetings to attend. So he would be busy to miss her too much.

Nix had requested Orion to let Sirius and Reg stay at Potter Manor for those two days. Jamie would need someone to distract him. Orion had agreed. Lily had been disappointed to hear that Nix would only stay for a day but she understood. 

Lily lived in a fairly big white fence, cream colored house (that could be seen steadily changing into yellow) in a nice neighborhood. The inside of the house was squeaky clean. Even, Black house wasn't this clean. It was large, spacious and was filled with pictures of the family. 

Nix and Mrs Evans were entertaining themselves by trying new flavors from Bertie Bott's beans, while waiting for Lily to come back from market. They were in the very pleasant company of Lily's elder sister, Petunia.

Petunia was a very thin, blonde haired woman with pale gold eyes with a exceptionally long neck. She was tall and her expression reminded her of Lady Black for some reason.  _Lady Black and this girl could be best girlfriends, if they went for something like that._ The ostrich-neck girl kept her lips pursed; that reminded Nix of a horse.  _Huh? Maybe being an animagus was affecting her thinking._ This girl was fairly ordinary looking compared to Lily, but exponentially ruder. 

"How are studies going? Lily was telling me that this year was a tad bit difficult than the first. Although, she also told us that you have topped the batch without studying too much?", Mrs Evans smiled as she took another bean (peppermint this time)

"The syllabus for the first two years are easier for the children from wizarding family as we are exposed to magic since we were born. It just easier to incorporate that knowledge into practice. From this year, it would be a bit difficult, I suppose. We have new subjects which are not really taught or talked about at home. I won't worry about your daughter being able to keep up with the syllabus though. Lily is in top five of our year. She is a natural in so many subjects. Give her a few years, I won't be surprised, if she turns out to be one of the most powerful witches of our generation.", Nix said brightly. Mrs Evans puffed her chest proudly and gave Nix a bright smile. Petunia scowl intensified. Nix was waiting for her to neigh (horse sounds).  _Man, she and Snape would get along like fire._  

Petunia, the woman who raises her half's son, scoffed and turned her back to her. Mrs Evans looked miffed at her elder daughter's behavior. Nix shrugged. This was to be expected with all that Lily has told her about her elder sister.

Mrs Evans decided to ignore her elder daughter and asked,"I heard that you recently went to a wizarding wedding. How different is it from muggle weddings?"

"Not a lot is different. Its same, I suppose. Just wedding is conducted by Magic ministers and after the 'I do's, the couple's cast a magical spell. The spell basically tells the bond between the couple. The whiter the light produced, stronger is their bond and love. After the white light, another light is created. It's unique to every couple.", Nix replied taking another bean, it was bacon.

Mrs Evans said, while eating cream puff bean,"Oh, that is fascinating! We hardly know anything about wizarding world. I feel like we should put more effort in knowing the world my Lily will live in. I just don't know how. I don't want to embarrass her in front of her friends.", Mrs Evans said, a bit anxiously. Petunia looked bitter about that.

"I could get you some magical history and cultural books. It would help you understand the a bit about  the wizarding world. My mother has herself written few of them. I could ask my twin to bring it for you, if you would like?", Nix said

Mr Evans looked ready to burst with excitement as she hugged Nix,"Yes! It would be so helpful, if it is not a lot of trouble. Do you need to borrow Lily's owl?"

Nix said, "Oh no, that would take a lot of time. Wait for a second." She took out her charmed Mirror and spoke in loud voice, "Prongs!"

Jamie's smiling face came on the mirror. "What up, sis? Missing me already?"

Nix snorted," Oh brother, I will always miss you. It very difficult not to miss your nest hair!"

"I know! They are hard to forget.", Jamie said with wink while ruffling his hair more. Nix chuckled. 

"Yeah, so I have reached Evans house. And no, Lily is not here right now. (Jamie looked disappointed. Nix chuckled; Mrs Evans was intrigued; Petunia was crossed) She's out with her father to the market. I, actually, wanted you to bring some cultural books about wizarding history, culture and etiquette for the Mrs Evans, when you come here tomorrow to pick me up. Get some of Mama's books too, will you?", Nix told Jamie.

"Sure thing, sis. I will bring the abridged version, so that they can get a general gist of all things magical and our everyday style of living. If they find any topic interesting, we can give them more books on that topic. Why bore them with those absolutely boring essay type books. Anything else?", Jamie said with a smile, Nix could see he was already feeling anxious. She gave him a bright smile, which eased some of his tension. 

"Nah. Just this. Have fun tonight! Love you! Bye!", Nix said brightly. Jamie nodded and the chat cut off. 

Mrs Evans looked wide eyed at the mirror. Nix explained, "These are charmed mirrors. It can connects to specific people. It like telephone, just you see the person you are talking to. I could get Lily one. You can talk to her this way when she is in Hogwarts. Just make sure non magical people don't see it." Mrs Evans hugged her again.

"Oh don't worry about that! We want people to think of us as  _normal_! Mother, why would you want to get books to learn about being more like  _them? They are all FREAKS!_  FREAKS!!", Petunia screamed and left the room. Mrs Evans apologized and giving Nix cookies, went to reprimand Petunia. In hindsight, that was a good thing because Nix, meanwhile, was reeling from the flood of visions.

Nix saw Petunia, 23-24 old, ( _that horse face and ostrich neck was impossible to miss) scream at seeing the_  baby on her door step. She read the letter and pursed her lips. It was painful how she picked the tiny one year old child.  _Harry! Oh he is such a cutie pie! Nix pursed her lips. He has that mark already? It looks fresh. It means the attack must have happened recently. Nix_ _desperately searched for a clock, date, time, anything to tell her when her brother and his wife were going to die. She can stop it!_ But her vision changed.  _Merlin's sodding ass! WHY?!?_

The next vision was of a three year old, incredibly cute but severely thin Harry being roughly pushed into a small cupboard under the staircase.  _Nix swore._ The cupboard was not larger than the fireplace. It has a small makeshift bed with bedding and a bulb on top. There were spiders, dirt and old stuff spread around _. This is where her nephew grew! THIS!!! WHAT KIND OF WOMAN TREATED A CHILD SO CRUELLY!!_ Harry innocently looked around with fear and resignation. Petunia locked the door. Harry, very timidly, surveyed his room. He tentatively reached his 'bed' and looked so hopeless and helpless. His eyes started to brim with tears and tears started to fall. Each tear was like a stab to Nix's heart. 

Her sweet-sweet boy was clutching his wild hair,  _so much like Prongs,_  and trying to compose himself. He started heaving and deep soul gutting sobs wreaked his tiny frame. Her heart broke into million pieces to see that despite the pain, Harry made no noise. Absolutely none! There was pin drop silence as Harry cried his heart out. 

 _What have they done to him? Her beautiful boy was sobbing and there was not a noise. Did they beat him? Has he lost all hope? Was he depressed? Did they even feed him? Nix tried to hug him, but she went straight through. Her nephew looked so sad and wrecked. She wanted to hug and console him!_ Then, he whispered something that broke her barely held composure, a _nd she was on the floor sobbing._

"Wh..why did you leave  _me_ , mom-dad? Please coo..come ba..back! Please! I w.w..w.wi..wil...will be go..good. I promise! Ple...pleaseeee! Take me away! I am so..ss...sorry! I miss...miss you! Send any..anyone to take me awa..away..pleaseeee....." Harry prayed desperately to his dead parents and Nix has never felt worse.  _Had her heart been craved out of her chest, it would have hurt less_.  _She sat with Harry and sang lullaby. She knew it was useless but she couldn't do nothing!!!_   Harry fell asleep whether from her singing or just exhausted from sobbing, she didn't know.

Her next vision was of Petunia hitting Harry on head using a fly pan for burning a toast. He must be barely older than four!  _He was four and this sadistic bitch was making a child cook food for her!_ _She was beating him with a pan for not learning to cook properly? Harry's reaction pained her more. It was like he expected this! As if this is so common that he didn't care being burned or beaten!_

Her next vision was looking at Harry watching with a pitiful expression at the towering gifts and love that was being lavish on a very, very fat boy, younger than Harry. Harry was cooking food by the stove, standing on stool, for those disgusting horrid people. He served them food and was ignored by all. He scrapped the burnt food and ate it by the kitchen stove.  _Her nephew was eating scrapped burnt food as if they were delicacies._  

Next was the vision of the ginormous boy pushing Harry down last few stairs.  _Nix rushed to see if he was okay._ Harry cradled his hand as if it was broken. Still no voice came out of Harry.  _Oh my poor boy. How much have they hurt you, tortured you? I understand why you would prefer to live as murder target than live like this!_  The whale dude from picture said  proudly to his equally whale of a son,"Don't worry Petunia. We will beat the freakishness off this brat! Isn't that right, Dudley?" Dudley nodded. Petunia  _smiled._

 _She is worse than Lady Black! This horrible woman!! And, Brat_ _! Brat! This sodding bastard! Her nephew was wearing clothes thrice his size. He was_ _malnourished! He had broken glass cellotaped! And your effing son, bloody hell, broke his arm. He is the brat!? Oh I would kill you, you piece of shit! You waste of space and air. Beat the freakishness! Beat the freakishness...Petunia, you better hope that my brother and your sister don't die, or I would come back to haunt your non-existent butt till the day you die. After which I would murder_ _you in deadland. You sisterfuc..._  

Next vision was of that whale ugly guy beating Harry for breaking a vase. After that was of Petunia calling him a "freak!" and shoving him inside the closet. Next was vision of Harry being shaven bald by Petunia, leaving just fringe to hide his scar.  _This despicable woman! This horrid woman!_ Next Petunia opening door to a collapsed Harry, who looked like he hadn't eaten for days.  _Nix was sobbing uncontrollably. She begged Magic to stop! She couldn't take any more of these visions! Magic never listened to her!_  

Her next vision was of 11 year, still malnourished, Harry sleeping in a very cold weather with a very thin blanket. There was no fire, cold wind was blowing in. Dudley,  had two blanket below and above his huge frame.  _She was ..was Soo mad that she wanted to curse these inhumane psychopaths into Oblivion!_ It looked like a storm was brewing outside.  _Well it was brewing inside her too_. Were _they near sea? It couldn't be a boat. It was too steady for that._ Her nephew wished himself 'happy birthday' so sadly.  _Nix desperately wished she could at least hug him._

Her next vision was of a clearly Hogwarts, his magic books were lying all around, going Harry being given food from a dog flap in his bedroom. His window had heavy grills and were sealed.  _Did they imprison him in this room?  These bastards. She was....she was....helpless to just watch as her nephew suffered and suffered at hands of these repulsive human beings._

Her next vision was of Harry and Dudley being attacked by two dementors. Her brave strong boy fired his Prongs patronus and saved them both. She saw as Harry dragged Dudley towards his hell. He was joined by a old woman, who was apparently their neighbor and was a squib. She has been keeping an eye on Harry for Dumbledore. 

 _Dumbledore! G3 knew about this? And let it happen?!? Oh her G3 was going to hear about this!!_  She saw as Petunia and that whale dude blamed Harry for everything. Dudley sort of defended him. Then, Petunia answered what Dementors were.  _Oh, so this bitch remembers about the wizarding world. She knew and she punished her nephew for things he couldn't control or understand. This person is probably the persons that turn into Dementors. She was selfish, jealous, nasty bitch who hated that her sister was part of a world, she wasn't. So she took revenge from her dead sister's toddler. She was pathetic! Absolute bottom of the humanity. Scratch that, she had no humanity!_

Her next vision was of a 17 year old Harry saying bye to the Dursleys. The fat baby has turned into an even fatter man. He saw as Dudley wanted to take Harry with them _(Ah! So he changed, at least)_. She saw as that Dudley's father left with a 'bye'. She watched in brewing anger as Harry's aunt, who raised him since he was one year old, left without a word or even looking at him for last time.  _This woman! This nasty, horrible, despicable woman!_

She came back to present and was thankful that she was alone. She was crying uncontrollably and was shivering. She took a deep breath. She warded the place that made people who wanted to come in, remember other things and leave to do that. Then with shaking hands, she called Sirius through her mirror.

Sirius smiling face came into view. Sirius happiness turned into deep distress as he saw the state Nix was in. "Buttercup! Are you hurt? Are you hurt? Nix, answer me! What is it? Where are you? Nix!"

"Si..Sirius, please, pr...pre....press yellow bu...button on your Walkman.", Nix cut off the talk from a frantic Sirius. Nix became a sobbing mess on the Evans floor.

Suddenly, strong arms enveloped in a protective hug. She turned her face and buried herself in Sirius's chest. She didn't need to look to see it was him. She just knew. They sat there in that position for a long time. She looked at Sirius. He looked so pained at her pain. He kissed her tears away. 

"It is way worse than I previously thought. Lily's sister,  _Petunia,_  her husband and her son, Dudley, have beaten, abused, starved Harry of food, affection, and of basic humanity. They made him their slave! He is in worse condition than many of the house elves. They made him cook at age of four for all of them. Burning him and  beating him when he couldn't cook at four years! They shoved him into a cupboard smaller than that fire escape. That is his room! He is so thin and malnourished. He was beaten to get make sure his freakishness is removed from him!"

"Harry is powerful wizard. No wonder, he showed sign of magic from an early age on. He was constantly beaten for it.  _Petunia_ knew about it, she knew that magic can't be beaten out. She took  _pleasure_ in seeing her dead sister's son beaten!  Hell, she beat him regularly! Harry fainted because he was so underfed. Lily's sister is an absolute horrible, nasty girl already. I can see her devolving into that nasty, jealous, disgusting psychopath. Peter, I wanted to beat the shit out of him, but  _her_....even if I torture her with the darkest of curse for hours, it won't be enough." Nix ranted. Sirius looked equally pissed. She took deep breaths.

"But I can't do that! Because she hasn't done all this yet! But I will make her pay for being such a nasty shit. I am sure she treats Lily horribly. Lily is too nice and sweet to say anything to her. Well, after what I saw today,  _Petunia,_ won't have a peaceful sleep till she treats everyone better.", Nix said angrily.

"Maybe I could turn into Padfoot and bite her? Or we could charm this place to spit cooties, water or something, at her.", Sirius suggested 'Siriusly'. Despite her anger, a smile broke out on her face at that image. She sighed and hugged him again. Sirius hugged her back and kissed her hair.

She breathed deeply his musky cinnamon smell. It calmed her nerves a bit. She was in love with Sirius. Yeah, she knew he was her soulmate and she would have loved him anyways. But he was so nice, caring and smart, that even without that bond, she would have fallen hard for him. Would he have loved her without the bond? She wasn't so sure. But she was glad that Magic has at least bestowed her with amazing people in her life.

"I didn't get you in trouble, did I?", Nix worriedly asked Sirius. Her lips brushed against his neck's pulse with every word. She watched in fascination as goosebumps erupted all over his skin and she felt his pulse rate increase. 

"No!", Sirius said in a slightly chocked voice. Nix pulled back to look at him. They both stared at each other. Then started to simultaneously lean in towards each other when a shout came from somewhere. Sirius and Nix sprung apart. Sirius was cursing worse than a sailor looking for the source of interruption. Nix couldn't control her giggle at his annoyance.

"Sirius!", said the voice again. It sounded like Reg. "I think its your Walkman.", Nix told an annoyed Sirius.

"What?", Sirius said sharply at the Walkman. Reg looked highly amused. 

"Brother dear, the terror express is looking for us. We need to leave for the Potters. Come back, will you? Fast! Say hi to Nix.", Reg said and cut the connection off. 

Sirius grumbled, "Interrupting buggers! I would never get to kiss you with James and Reg around." Nix giggled and kissed him on his cheek. Sirius smiled.

Sirius looked at her so softly that her heart melted. "You will be alright? I don't have to go back. I can stay here, if you want.", Sirius asked her lovingly. His one hand was on her face and the other held her hand, rubbing soothing circles on her palm. Nix smiled, her anger long forgotten. Oh, she was going to curse Petunia but she won't commit murder. At least she hoped she won't. The list of people she wanted to murder was growing at an alarming rate. 

"I will be fine. Thank you for coming when you did!", Saying this Nix kissed him tenderly on his cheek. Sirius blushed. 

"It was lucky that there was a button installed for that, or I would have gone crazy trying to find you.", Sirius looked worried at that very thought.

"That button was installed by James, just in case, I needed either of your help and he wasn't around. I told him, we didn't need to put it in; but he was stubborn about it. I guess I owe him an apology now.", Nix said with a fond smile.

"Don't worry, I would thank him when I meet him today. Call me if you need to talk alright. No matter the time.", Sirius said, hugging her.

Nix smiled and nodded. Sirius pressed the yellow button and was gone with a whoosh. Nix breathed deeply and calling for all the strength she possessed, she removed the ward.

She started to look at the books that Petunia had spread around. It looked like her wish to be ordinary was successful. She was abysmal at basic math. Her other subjects seems to be a bit better.

The books were snatched from her hand by a fuming Petunia. 

"Don't touch my books, you freak! You won't understand a word of it. Try to keep your freakishness under radar, we don't want our neighbors to know about your unnaturalness", Petunia spat out. 

Nix thought of all love she had for her brother, his future wife Lily and their amazing son, and reined in her anger. She smiled.

"That shouldn't be a problem. You seem to have that corner covered. Although, maybe I can help you with your algebra. There are several questions that are wrong in that.", Nix replied calmly, even if inside she was preventing herself from cursing his vile woman. 

"I ..you are calling me a freak! I don't go to a special school. I go to a _normal_ school and have a _normal_ life! You all are taken away so that the rest of society can live peacefully.", Petunia spat out. She was getting redder in face.

"True. It is more for our own peace of mind then your though. My twin and I have already completed classes till your High school. So I can help you pass your subjects, if you want.", Nix said politely. She saw Mrs Evans look at her with respect and frown deeply at her elder daughter.

"What did you do, use your magic to get the passing marks. I wouldn't put it past you freaks!", Petunia scorned. "Petunia!", Mrs Evans chided her but to no avail.

"That would have definitely been easier, but no. Till we are of age, we are not allowed to do magic outside of school. But, James and I, are certified geniuses, it made the course easier. I wonder if the red marks in your notebook is what is considered as normal. It wasn't in my muggle school.", Nix said thoughtfully. 

"You cocky girl! I will not be taught how to be normal by a freak..." Petunia unimpressive rant was derailed when Mr Evans angrily said her name. He looked pissed. Lily looked on verge of crying. "Petunia, go to your room. Now!!" 

"But father, this freak!...", Petunia protested. "Petunia, NOW!", Mr Evans said angrily. He took deep breaths as Petunia ran away with an angry look at Lily.  He came smiling towards Nix.

"Hello, Nix. It's a pleasure to have you here. Lily is very excited about it. Please forgive my elder daughter for her rudeness. She has been very disagreeable for a while. I do apologize on her behalf.", Mr Evans said. He looked a bit worried that because of Petunia's actions, Lily might suffer the consequences.  

Petunia had taken after her father, physically at least. Petunia's personality seems to be revolving around her jealousy of Lily. That was sad really. She wondered how Petunia would be if she put aside her pettiness.

"Its alright, Mr Evans. I am very happy to be here.", Nix said with a smile.

Lily came towards Nix, scared and still looking on verge of crying. Nix knew Liky thought that after her sister's brilliant rant, Nix would refuse to be friends with her. Nix has never judged a person by their family, why would she start doing it now? Keeping aside the fact, that Lily was her future sister in-law.

Nix hugged Lily and Lily hugged her back tightly, as if afraid this was the last time she would be able to. Nix smiled brightly at her future sister in-law. Lily looked hopeful. 

"Hey, Lily! Please tell me you went to get gummy bears?", Nix asked lily, smiling brightly. She looked at Lily reassuringly. 

Lily brightened up and said,"Yeah! Here!" Bringing out the bag of gummy bears. 

"Awesome! The Bertie Bott's every flavor beans were almost finished!", Nix said excitedly. Lily, Mr Evans and Mrs Evans breathed in relief and smiled brightly at Nix.  

* * *

"Wanna try something?", Lily asked Nix excitedly as they were swinging on the swings at really high speeds. Nix nodded and Lily jumped off the swing like a bird and landed on the floor perfectly. Nix grinned and did the same. 

Lily got so excited that Nix was surprised she didn't spontaneously combust of happiness. They both ran together to the swings and did it again a few times. 

After a while, the girls went to sit under a tree. Lily was smiling brightly.

"Nix, thank you for coming for sleepover and not minding Petunia. I am so sorry for her behavior.", Lily apologized  to Nix. 

"It's alright, Lily. Is she like that with you?", Nix asked concerned

"Yes. We used to very close together but I could go magic from early on. Petunia couldn't. She didn't like magic from very beginning. She found it unnatural. After I found out that I was a witch, Petunia became crossed about it." Nix took hold of her hand in support.

"She won't talk to like she used to. Then I started talking to Sev, who told me very early on that I was witch. I wanted to know about the wizarding world, and Sev was the only wizard I knew. It went downhill from there." Lily had tears brimming in her eyes

"Petunia hated Sev and Sev hated Petunia. We were talking about Dementors, when he saw Petunia listen in to our talks. Sev got angry and dropped a branch on her because of accidental magic. Petunia started to dislike me more since then." Nix hugged Lily. Still hugging Nix, Lily continued,

"On station, she called me a freak. When I pointed it out to her that she didn't think I was a freak when she wrote a letter begging Dumbledore to admit her also to the wizarding world. I think that sealed the deal for her. She began to be highly unpleasant and hateful. I am sorry that she took it out on you like that." Lily said into Nix's shoulder.

"Lily, its not your fault that you can do magic. Petunia, I think, is jealous that she is not part of your world anymore. That she is now an outsider, instead of being beside you. I am sure she would get over her pettiness. The best you can do is be true to yourself and hope she would come around. You should talk to Sirius about this. His mother is awfully unpleasant. Petunia doesn't even come close to it." Nix said to Lily, running soothing circles on her back. Lily sighed and giving Nix one last squeeze, pulled back.

They both smiled when a voice said, "What are you doing here?" They turned around to see Snape. Lily smiled brightly. Snape came towards them.

"I told you I asked Nix to come for a sleepover. She is here for a day. I was showing her the neighborhood." Lily said excitedly. Snape smiled sweetly at her. _oh..did he have a crush on Lily? It actually very probable. I don't think Lily likes him that way._

"I hear congratulations are in order, Miss Potter or is it going to be Mrs Black?", Snape asked her teasingly, it came out like a partial sneer though.  _He really needed to work on his people skills._

"It was an official date, Snape, not a wedding invitation. But in future, yes. Possibly Mrs Black, provided Lady Black doesn't murder me by then.", Nix replied with a smile.

"You don't seem worried that your future mother in law hates you.", Snape observed.  _Did she see concern on his face?_

"Na! It's all pureblood mania. It really doesn't matter.", Nix replied with a shrug.

"Are Potter and Black coming to pick you up?", Snape asked Nix. Nix did notice the disdain her twin and Sirius's name drew from him. She thought that the fight between them was just childish. Maybe it was turning out to be more.  _They would surely grow out of it. Right? Her vision's animosity cannot be real, could it? Maybe she should do something to diffuse it._

Deciding to do something if and when the situation arrived, Nix replied," Yup, Prongs in his all wild hair glory and Sirius with his handsomeness would be gracing us with their presence tomorrow." Nix felt a blush coming on at Lily's smirk.

Snape looked miffed and bothered by that information. 

"Oh look all three freaks are here! Let's go you two. Mother is calling for dinner.", Petunia screeched.

Lily looked pissed at her sister's rudeness; Snape opened his mouth to snark back, when Nix replied with a smile,

"Oh are two of your friends joining us for dinner too, Petunia?"

Snape huffed out a surprised laugh; Lily grinned at Nix. Nix was patiently waiting for Petunia's response.

Petunia looked flabbergasted at their reaction and it took her a while to realize what Nix's words meant. 

"You are the freaks! Freaks all of you! I am the _only normal_ person in this family!", Petunia screeched.

"This behavior is not normal, even in our crazy world. Maybe your definition of normal is different. Mind explaining it to us", Nix politely asked Petunia.

Petunia looked vexed and sneered," I don't have to waste my time talking to you all freaks. Just get a move on!" Saying this she turned and went back.

Lily looked at Nix and said with a smile,"Those books that you are getting for us, better have ways of tackling unpleasant relatives." Nix smirked.

* * *

"Are you telling me you went on a date with Sirius Black? A _date_  and you didn't tell me!", asked an excited but a slightly hurt Lily to blushing Nix. Lily was a bit hurt that Nix hasn't told her about it but was so happy that, finally!, these two were getting a move on!

"It was an official date. I forgot that you don't buy  _Daily Prophet._ They printed a picture of us dancing together on front page. Actually, the whole wedding was printed on front page.  _"Black family's changing allegiances!"_  Then next few days, slew of articles regarding Black family's allegiance were splashed all over the newspaper. It was a big news around the wizarding world. I am sorry, though. I should have, personally, told you." Nix said regretfully. Lily hugged her. 

"As compensation, you need to show me the wedding pictures! And what does 'official date' mean?", Lily asked confused. She was glad her mother had asked Nix to give them few wizarding culture and etiquette books. It would certainly help her understand certain eccentricities of wizarding world.   

"An official date is like a normal date, only it involves the families. Sirius's family follows the ancient arranged pureblood marriage rituals. Those scared 28 pureblood families are quite adamant about it. They all marry within each other's family to keep their bloodline pure and expand their businesses. Their marriages are, essentially, business agreements between families. Many family don't really give the wives a lot of power in lots of areas. It all very patriarchal."

"Liberal pureblood family, like ours and Kingsley's families, have ceased these practices. But not all of these families have, like Frank's. Its a slow changing process, mostly because the Heads of the Houses are very old and rigid in their thinking or have been brought up this way." 

"So, according to ancient laws, when two families want to create a relationship between each other, a courting process is initiated. If both the children and families like each other, next date is discussed. After three official dates and approval from the concerned parties, marriage negotiations are started." Nix said all this like she was reciting from a book.

"Oye! Wait! Marriage? Are you kidding? You are thirteen! You can't possibly be thinking about marriage! I know in wizarding world most people get married early but this is ridiculous!", Lily exclaimed. She was shocked! At thirteen her friend had her first successful official date. She was one step closer to be  _married!_ She knows that Nix and Sirius would end up together. That was a no brainier. But wasn't thirteen too young?

"Normally, yes. Most of the courting starts either from age fifteen, or whenever the girl gets her first period. It just our situation is different. He is the only one I see waiting for me at the end of the walk, you know. Same goes for him. He is  _the one,_ Lily. So, when I got my period, right after we reached home from the school, our parents decided to start the courting process."

"Orion, Sirius's dad, was insistent on it to prevent other families from smearing my honor, or whatever it is they do. He insists on marriage negotiations so that I can have all possible rights and power."

"Maybe things would change between us as we grow older, maybe they won't. I don't know. But I do know that the thought of growing old with him, doesn't scare me but excites me.", Nix said it shyly to a still shocked Lily.

Lily understood what Nix meant. Honestly, even Lily couldn't see anyone else down the path waiting for Nix other than Sirius. And, Sirius was already madly in love with her. It was sweet but they were still too young for being married!

"I know its early, but our parents have decided to pace our official courting process for two-three years. Honestly, its Sirius's father who is more insistent on the whole official business crap. I think it is to appease those frantic families. My parents don't care about it. They love Sirius already. They are happy that he would be my life partner. But if it makes Orion happy, so be it. Its not such a big deal, Lily. Nothing really changes.", Nix explained non-nonchalantly.

Lily nodded slowly and then smirked and asked, "Did you two kiss then?" 

Nix blushed and then shook her head in answer. Clearing her throat, she said," In official dates, the prospectors are not supposed to be umm..intimate with each other's."

Lily grinned and wagging her eyebrows, "But did you want to?".

Nix turned crimson and got up to get album. Lily burst out laughing.

The first pic was of awestruck Sirius looking ridiculous with half cookie in his mouth, one suspended in his hand, and drool dripping down his jaw. Despite being such a comical pose, Lily couldn't help but notice that Sirius looked very handsome in his smart black robes.  _Did he always have such sharp cheekbones?_

Lily smiled at his dazed expression and turned the page to the next photograph. She gaped. Nix looked stunning in her full length green gown. The slit on her leg showed her well defined tan legs, the cuts in the dress gave her sexy yet elegant appearance. Her normally tangled hair, was styled in a messy bun, which made her look even more sexy. Oh My God! Her heels were gorgeous! Her light makeup with bright red lipstick made Nix look like an angel or a model. Lily definitely understood Sirius's reaction.   

"How is that your hair is styled every time you go out but tonight I couldn't even untangled your hair properly. I mean, I broke three Combs trying to do that!", Lily asked Nix teasingly.

Nix replied with equally teasing manner, " Magic, dear!" Lily grinned.

Next picture was of Nix's backless back with Sirius and a whole stew of people standing in front of her. Nix backless dress was held together by the thin strip around her neck and started again from just above her hip. Nix looked so beautiful, sexy and elegant at the same time. Lily hoped that there was a picture of the moment Sirius caught sight of Nix's bare back. It would be hilarious. She would bet a galleon that Sirius would be drooling like a dog at that sight.  

Lily could tell that happiness was flowing out of Sirius, who looked smitten. She noticed that Mr and Mrs Potter as well as James looked bittersweet; whereas Regulus and Mr Black looked happy; and then, there was Mrs Black, who looked murderous. When she asked Nix about it, Nix replied,

"My family is feeling bittersweet about the fact that I would probably be married earlier than any of them thought and that I would be marrying Sirius. He is like their second son, after all. Prongs (Nix looked at her twin's photograph affectionately) is more conflicted because he wants his sister and his brother in everything but blood, to be happy. But that would mean that I would have to leave him. Reg is happy because I would be his official sister; Orion is happy because he would have a daughter; and Lady Black is miffed because she hates me." Nix chuckled.

"That doesn't bother you?", Lily asked concerned staring at that insane, sneering face.  _How could anyone hate Nix?_

"Na! Sirius's mother does not have a very pleasant personality. She hardly ever likes anyone, including her own children. She blames me for Sirius being sorted into Gryffindor; his scorn for pureblood conservative values; and the fact that Sirius has rejected all the other girls that were thrown at him by his mother.", Nix said the last part smugly.

Lily hadn't realized that Nix was possessive of Sirius as well. Everyone knew that Sirius was possessive of Nix, but he always controlled it. It was funny to see Sirius curbing his possessiveness, so as to not anger Nix.  Remus always got a big kick out of it. Nix never batted an eye when other girls flirted with Sirius.

Lily raised an eyebrow at Nix, Nix cheeks got a bit red (Nix was blushing a lot today), she said,"I know, people think I don't care when other people flirt with Sirius. I do care. Its just my trust in him is more than any jealously I could feel from some person flirting with him. I trust him never to break my heart. So even if he does flirt back, its harmless and just for fun. I don't have to feel insecure. But it doesn't mean I don't get teeny-tiny bit jealous. I can control it better than he can."

Lily smiled brightly at the enamored friend of hers. She wondered if Nix knew that Sirius hardly ever notices any other girl except her. No matter if Nix is with him or not. He is not rude with other girls, he just has no interest. Lily has seen several attempts of Rosier, Rowle and other host of girls, to try and get his attention when Nix wasn't around. It was useless to even try to get his interest when Nix was present. He just didn't see anyone when she was in the vicinity. It made other boys grumble because their girls would be mad at them for not being like Sirius. This is when they weren't even in a relationship. Now, it would sweetness overload, she was sure about it. 

Lily chortled at the Nix's height proof photograph. The boys disgruntled look at start that Nix was taller than them all, and Nix had a maniacal smile at being the tall one, made this photograph priceless. Sirius looked handsome as always with his arms around Nix waist. There was a bright shine in his eyes as he kissed Nix affectionately on the nose. Smartly dressed Regulus broke into a gleeful smile at the pair. James looked very ruggedly handsome with his wild hair and beautiful hazel eyes. His slow lazy smile watching his best friend and sister, filled her heart with happiness.  

 _umm..what? Beautiful hazel eyes? Ruggedly handsome? Lily, focus on being something first! You can daydream about James later. Not that she ever daydreamed about him. Just right now she was thinking about him. It wasn't that she liked him like that. Umm....focus!_  

Lily shook her head and went to next picture. It was the bride and groom. The groom, Lestrange, looked like a freaking Vampire.  _Was he a vampire?_ Bellatrix looked sultry with barely covering wedding gown.  _That is some racy gown._ Lily never thought she would say this but Bellatrix looked beautiful on her wedding day.

Next picture made her understand why Sirius's father wanted to start the courting process to protect Nix's virtue. The picture was of Sirius and Nix dancing very close to each other. Lily saw Sirius's hands covering her lower bare back and Nix had her arms around his neck. They were slow dancing so innately, that if the courting was not announced, there would definitely be some rumors flying around.

"Oh!", Nix looked shocked at the photograph. It was as if Nix hadn't realized that they were dancing so close in front of a big crowd. Nix turned beet root red when in the next photograph, Sirius leaned in just a breath away from her evil grinning lips, but seems to have reeled it in at last second. In the end, he pulled her very,  _very_  close to him and continued dancing. 

Nix cleared her throat,"I didn't...I didn't realize we were dancing so close." Nix looked down and her open, long hair covered her blushing face. Lily chuckled. Of course, these two didn't know how affectionate they were with each other. 

Lily saw other photographs of Nix dancing with James, Mr Black, Mr Potter, Alice, Frank and someone else; Regulus dancing with Mrs Potter; Mr and Mrs Potter doing some sort of Flamingo dance; James and Mrs Potter dancing; group picture of all of them sitting together.

Lily paused looking incredulously at series of photograph of James dipping Sirius; next one had Sirius lifting James up; then of them dancing as couples with hand around each other. Next was of them doing tango dance on an empty dance floor. It looked like their dancing had scared everyone off the dance floor. Nix guffawed at that picture.

"It was hilarious! James was bored with the very undramatic wedding, so they both decided to spice it up. The louder the chatter grew, the more ridiculous their dance become. Lady Black was having seizures seeing this!", Nix said still chortling. Lily chuckled. It sounded something like what those two would do. 

After that, the girls decided to have a marathon of movies. They watched the movies while talking about boys, Hogwarts, muggle technologies, books they have read, new subjects, Professors, and so on, for the whole night. It was good to have Nix for a sleepover. Lily smiled as she slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	29. Solicitous

Lily smiled fondly and a bit longingly at the twins hugging each other, on her house's front porch, as if they have been separated for years, instead of just a couple of days. Sirius caught her eyes and she saw understanding and recognition in his grey eyes. He smiled at her.

Sirius and James have come to pick Nix up from Lily's house. They were dressed in white buttoned shirts and looked ready for a formal party. James had new round spectacles (which made like look more boyish and highlighted his eyes); Sirius was spotting a ponytail (which made him look handsomer). Lily heard Petunia's quite gasp at seeing Sirius and James. She could understand. Both boys looked really good and proper gentlemen. 

James worried eyes were focused on his twin. Lily saw him scan Nix as if looking for injuries or any hurt sign. She had realized after their Nix's incident conversation, that James had never gotten over the trauma of almost losing his twin, properly. She saw it every morning at Hogwarts. How his eyes would pre-functionally scan Nix out for injuries. She knew James did crazy stuff to make his sister smile. James was so in tune with his sister that even slightest discomfort would bring out his protective side to forte. 

Nix never complained or told James to curb it down, unlike she did with Sirius. Lily knew from their night talks that Nix knew that James needed reassurance everyday that his twin was still there with him. Nix didn't mind James over-protectiveness saying that she would have lost her marbles had something happened to James instead. Lily loved how caring, loving and protective they both were of each other. This is how a sibling relationship should be.

Lily saw Nix smile brightly at James, who relaxed a bit. Then Nix went to embrace him in a hug. Lily saw James hug her with a bit of desperation. She (Lily was standing closest to the three) heard Nix assure him that she was fine. James hugged her tighter at that. She saw his long breath of relief as he buried his head in her hair.

Sirius looked at them fondly and came forward to introduce himself to Lily's parents as James was busy. Lily figured Sirius was doing that to reduce the intense manner in which her family was scrutinizing the twins reunion. Lily didn't know why, but even after being subjected to two years of James and Sirius friendship, she was always caught off guard at how well they both knew each other. They never needed to speak to understand what the other person wanted. They just did. Nix called it epitome of bromance. 

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Evans. I am Sirius Black, Lily's friend. That prat over there, hugging the life out of his twin, is my best mate, James Potter. Please excuse his rudeness. We just had a very long and suffering gala yesterday. He missed Nix in that gala. You have a very lovely house and garden.", Sirius said eloquently. His voice has gotten a bit heavier and had a bit of silkiness in them. 

 _Ye_ _s this will definitely keep girls from swooning all over him. It really was unfair. He was handsome, brilliant and extremely talented. He was also crazily in love with Nix. There will be several broken hearts in his wake._ Petunia was adjusting her hairdo as Sirius was speaking. Lily sighed.

"That is okay, Sirius. Why don't you all come in? Would you like some tea or cookies?", Mom said with a smile. Petunia looked eager to invite Sirius in. Looks like her disgust with everything magic took a backseat at seeing Sirius. Lily coughed. Petunia glared at her.

"It would be great Mrs Evans. But we are a bit on tight schedule. So maybe next time.", Sirius said courteously. 

Lily saw James grinned at Nix and kiss at top of her head. She heard James mutter to Nix," I missed you!" Hugging her again. James pulled back and then started to enthusiastically tell Nix about their gala last night.

"The gala was an absolute bust. Dung bombs did make Mrs Longbottom scream (Nix grinned widely and James fondly smiled at her); and at Lady Bones subtle pointing, we covered Lord Carrow and Lord Bulstrode in dung bomb. Lady Black almost had a hissy fit because we charmed her robes to produce pink bubbles. Oh! Ur-anus was there too. He looked absolutely charming in the his hot pink robes, which someone had charmed in middle of his introduction. I wish I knew who it was. (He grinned evilly) I would have praised them for their brilliant undetected charm. (Nix chuckled) Oh and Padfoot here, was almost mauled by horde of girls. But his favorite were Rosier and Rowle.", James ended with a teasing smile at Sirius, who had walked back to the twins. 

Sirius rolled his eyes. He looked at Nix sweetly and said,"Well considering you weren't there and this twat enjoys my discomfort too much, there really wasn't anything I could do now, could I? Stop smiling like that Buttercup. Merlin, you really are his twin, aren't you? He leaves me alone with those annoying girls, every time! Then my 'deer' best friend takes the front row as he enjoys my attempts at running away from those hordes of girls. Some best mate he is." Sirius said as he playfully punched James on his shoulder. 

Lily's parents looked at the three with intrigue and affection. Amid his mid rant, Sirius arms had wrapped itself around Nix's waist and pulled her closer to his side. Petunia eyes narrowed at Sirius arms around Nix's waist.  _Another one bites the dust. Great!_

"Are you being 'Sirius'? Don't answer that. It is the best part of those horrid meetings. It is so entertaining!", James defended himself with a mischievous smile. Seeing that smile, Lily felt a smile tug at her lips. Nix giggled and Sirius looked mock-offended.  

James came forward to greet Lily's parents. They knew him from the station, plus from the number of times Lily mentioned him in the conversations, her parents knew who he was.

Lily saw from corner of her eyes as Sirius slowly traced his hand over Nix's face, lovingly. His eyes seemed to be asking a question, which Nix replied with a bright smile. Sirius nodded and hugged her, burying his face in her neck and hair. Petunia looked vexed besides her.  _Remus was right we were going to die of diabetes by being subjected to these two nutters. Or be killed by jealous people._    

"Mr and Mrs Evans, how are you? Its been a long time since we have met. I hope the BABY of our house, didn't cause you any trouble?" James said with a smile. Nix lightly punched him on his shoulder. Sirius smiled brightly. Petunia OCD must be kicking in because she was watching James wild hair with apprehension.  

"Nix was an absolute delight to have, my dear. Its a shame, she could only stay for a day. Why don't to you all come in for a while?", Dad said with a smile.

"We would love to Mr Evans, but we have a some prior appointments that needs to be attended. We would have picked Nix up later at night, but it would have been too late by then. Hey Lily! How are you? Merlin, you got taller than us too.", James said with a bright smile.

"We need to have a picture to prove it. Wait! There! Brilliant. I will send you a copy, Lily!", Nix said excitedly as the camera zoomed out. Lily's parents and Petunia were looking at the flying camera with wonder. The boys grumbled. Lily and Nix smirked.

"Oh the injustice, Prongs! They both would never let us live it down, will they?", Sirius said solemnly even if his eyes were smiling. Lily honestly thought that being near Nix did that to him, irrespective of the situation. Not that Nix's eyes weren't shining.  

"No, but that's the ritual of life. You suffer in some and win in others. Talking about suffering, it reminds me of books. (Lily snorted) Mrs Evans, I have few books about magical culture, customs and history with me for you. If you find any topic intriguing, please don't hesitate to ask for more books regarding them.", James said with a smile.

"Oh thank you honey! That is so great! I have been wanting to learn about the magical world my Lily would live in more for ages now. This should help a great deal. How much did it cost?", Mom asked James excitedly as she took over ten books from James.

James smiled and said, "It would be an even 80 pounds."

Mom nodded and dad took 80 pounds and gave it to James. James nodded and said,"If you need any more books, please don't hesitate to ask. But we better be leaving now. Its been a pleasure, Mr and Mrs Evans. Bye Lily, see you at the Diagon alley." James gave her a quick hug which had both of them blushing slightly. Lily's mom looked excited; her father frowned; and Petunia looked vexed. Sirius and Nix were smiling slyly at them. James stuck his tongue out at his twin. Nix laughed and hugged  Lily.

"Thank you so much! Girls slumber parties are fun! We are absolutely doing it next time. Petunia, it was uncommonly nice to meet you. Mr and Mrs Evans, like ancient said over here, thank you being such wonderful hosts. Bye Lily!", Nix said. The three of them left with a whoosh. Lily smiled brightly and even Petunia's unpleasantness didn't ruin her mood.

* * *

Sirius entered Nix's room. PaPo was out to meet Damocas. Sirius hoped that they closer to the cure for werewolves. Even with their Animagus keeping Moony company, he was still in pain from transformation process alone. MaPo, James and Reg have decided to go to muggle town. Nix had retired to her room saying she was tired, as the girls hadn't slept almost all night.

The rest of them had to go to Ministry Gala in the evening, except Nix of course. He missed her during these boring and ridiculous galas. This year it has been especially being annoying. The girls near his age won't leave him alone. They went after James too but that prat would somehow sneak away.

Rosier was especially irritating. She has whined to him multiple times about him not asking her out on an official date. _Yeah, right. Over his dead body_. Only if Nix was there will him, he wouldn't have to pay even a ounce of attention to these annoying girls. He would spend the time happily with her and James. The weddings were example enough. He had a blast in those events because Nix was there, looking absolutely gorgeous and brightening the place with her smile.

Sirius was sure that their soulmate bond was strong, very strong. He has noticed James and Remus admire girls from a distance. He knew they didn't want anything to do with them but they still were interested in them. He had absolutely no interest in any of them, except Nix. 

About Nix he wanted to know everything, to be with her every moment. Her smile made his heart warm and butterfly flutter in his stomach. Her blue eyes were so entrancing that he could get lost in them staring at her for hours.

Sirius would go back to his hell hole tonight itself and apart from meeting them at Diagon Alley, he would only see them again on Hogwarts train. This summer has be more pleasant than others. After his father had charmed their rooms, they both made sure not to be in vicinity of their mother more than absolutely required. It was relatively pain free summer. Apart from the Bella's wedding night. His mother had cursed him good then.

He was going to Ireland with his father for a while with Reg. He was happy as mother would not go along with them. He knew that Potters' had planned a relaxing vacation in Iceland for a while. 

Right now, Sirius wanted to make sure Nix was alright. Seeing her on Evans floor had shook him. How horrible was the future? He wanted to hug and hide her from all the pain in the world. He wanted to torture anyone that made her upset. It had been a struggle not to curse that annoying elder sister of Lily. 

Nix was sleeping and he took her sleeping form in. He wondered if he would ever get over how beautiful she was. He started when she suddenly opened her gorgeous eyes. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable. It was different when his intentions regarding her were not out in the open. But with the courting initiation process, he didn't know if things had changed. He wanted her to be comfortable with him in all forms.    

Nix smiled so sweetly at him that Sirius heart started to beat loudly. He smiled back."Wanna bunk in?", Nix asked him a bit shyly. Sirius smiled brightly and joined her. He hugged her close and breathed in her summer scent. They tangled their legs together and turned to face each other. 

"So how was the slumber party? Did anything crazy?", Sirius asked her, trying to untangle a bit of her hair. 

"It was fun! I braided Lily's hair. They are so gorgeous and silky. Almost comparable to yours. (Nix said this while running her fingers through Sirius's hair. He hummed) She tried to braid mine, only to get fed up and give up after a lot of cursing. (Sirius chuckled). We went to the park; had lots of sweets and food; watched marathon of movies; talked for hours; and painted each others nails. It was great!", Nix said excitedly.

"As for crazy. I did something to Petunia. (Sirius looked worried) I cursed her when we all went to the market and I saw Mchonagen and Brunts (you know the half bloods) families out there for lunch. I did the curse then, so no one was wiser about who used magic. I cursed  _Petunia_ with a charm that would plague her with nightmares regarding her bad behavior towards other people. It would only go away when she apologies and behaves properly thereafter.", Nix said smilingly.

"Like in the 'wizard and hopping pot' story?", Sirius asked. Nix smiled and nodded. Sirius smiled and kissed her cheek. He pulled away and started to slowly trace her spine. 

"Talking about crazy, something happened during the summer. Bella has been jumpy a lot this summer. Bella was ranting about the fact that she can hear a lion's roar whenever she says mudblood or anything mean. Turns out even her most talented and amazing Lord has been unable to remove that charm. Its hilarious to see her say something mean and bloodist, then jump in air like she is freaked out of her mind. Reg gave her a neon colored ear muffin to cover her ears, once. It had the opposite effect. Apparently, it increased the roar's volume in her ear, making her almost deaf. It was hilarious to see her scream at an invisible voice while wearing that neon colored ear muffin. Mother reckons her insanity genes are catching sooner rather than later. Father concurs."

"Oh, and Malfoys' have curiously lost their house elf. (Nix beamed. Sirius looked amused) Somehow, a sock that was lying on Lord Malfoy's table stand got caught in the business book Lucius-ous hair took from my family's library. Lord Malfoy, unknowing of the fact, gave the book to their house elf, Dobby. He is pissed that he lost his faithful servant because of his slight carelessness. Dobby has vanished from their lives with a snap of his fingers. Any idea how that happened, Buttercup?", Sirius asked her smiling, as he trailed his fingers lightly across length of her face. 

"No, not a clue. Its a shame, really.", Nix said grinning wickedly. Sirius realized that this particular smile of hers would be his downfall. It was irresistible. He bend down to kiss her on her cheek but then decided to kiss her a bit lower.  

He kissed her at a certain spot on her beautiful jawline. Nix gasped. Sirius looked at gaping Nix, whose eyes were a shade darker. Sirius grinned and kissed that spot again. Nix gasped again. He decided to try something. He flicked the spot with his tongue lightly. Nix inhaled sharply and grabbed a handful of his shirt. He then sucked on the spot lightly. He felt her toes, which were between his legs, curl. He proceeded to suck, lick and kiss that spot for a while. Nix was moaning by the end of it and he was becoming addicted to that alluring sound.

He moved up kissing her jawline with hot open mouthed kisses. Nix was breathing heavily. He kissed her behind her ears. Nix curled toes were digging in his legs; one of her hands had grabbed the bed sheet tightly while other had balled a handful of Sirius's shirt. Her spine was arching. Sirius was sure she was going to rip his shirt off. He didn't mind that one bit. Not at all.     

"Sirius", Nix winded and aroused voice said. Sirius could feel himself getting extremely turned on by that. He hovered over her for a minute. As he moved forward to kiss Nix on the lips, PaPo banged on her door,"Nix honey, get up. Food is ready. I wonder where Sirius is..."

Nix and Sirius stared at each other. Sirius was suspended in mid air and Nix in upward motion. Sirius decided to 'hell with it' and moved down to kiss Nix's full lips again, when again PaPo yelled from the door,"Nix! You up? Come on, I am starving! And, Sirius better not be inside there with you!"

"I am up, dad. And no, Sirius is not here.", Nix yelled back. Sirius cursed softly and slumped on top of Nix (between her neck and shoulder). Nix chuckled and dropped a kiss on his head. He grumbled and kissed Nix on her collarbone. Nix shivered and then sighed. She patted Sirius, who reluctantly got up and pulled her up with him. Nix, after adjusting her dress and hair, left the room and Sirius followed her out, disgruntled.  

He pulled her close to him as they went downstairs. As they neared the kitchen, Sirius had a wicked thought. No one was looking at them, they were all busy setting up their lunch. Sirius licked the point behind Nix's ears. Nix gasped. Sirius quickly moved at a fair distance, looking absolutely nonchalant. Everyone looked at Nix, who blushed. 

"Nix, are you alright?", MaPo asked her concerned. James was looking at Sirius with an amused expression. PaPo had his eyebrows raised. Sirius belatedly realized that his shirt was still crumbled from where Nix has grabbed them. Sirius inwardly shrugged. 

"Yeah...yeah! I am fine. I just umm....stumbled my toe at this stool.  (The stool was a good two foot away from her 'stumped toe')  Food looks delicious!", Nix stammered out. Sirius saw PaPo give him a combination of warning and amused look. While James was outright stifling a laugh. MaPo and Reg were looking curiously at the Nix.

Nix was still flushed and a bit pissed at Sirius. Sirius beamed at her. Nix smiled back as if she couldn't help it and then shook her head.  _This year was going to be great!_  

* * *

"Is that why you are walking around calling yourself, Severus?", Potter asked Snape.

Lupin sighed and said,"That's his real name!".

Potter looked shocked,"Is it?"

Severus snapped, "Yes!*"

Black asked him, looking amused while his eyes were trained on the girls standing on the stool at the robe shop,"What did you think it was? Lily calls him Sev, Prongs."

Potter flushed and said,"I thought his name was Snivellus. I didn't want to say that because that was an unfortunate name." Black roared in laughter while Potter flushed more. Lupin chuckled. Snape was feeling furious.

Black looked sweetly at Nix who asked what happened."Prongs just discovered Snape's first name." Black chuckled. 

"What do you mean you just discovered his name?", Lily asked Potter curiously. Her eyes have started to sparkle every time Potter was around her. Severus didn't like it one bit.

"I thought that his first name was Snivellus, which is a bit unfortunate first name. So I never called him by his first name.", a flushed Potter explained it to Lily. Lily smiled fondly at Potter and Severus was thinking of ways to torture this self entitled brat. Nix chuckled.

"There, you are done!",Madam Malkin told the girls. 

"Thank Merlin! This is a torture every year. Mother can't we just adjust our robes length, instead of buying new ones every year?", Nix complained. Black slugged his heavy arm over her delicate shoulder and pulled her closer. He placed a kiss on her cheek and she smiled back at his stupid face.

Severus sighed internally. They both have been even more touchy since their official courting. Severus was not really shocked to see their photograph of dancing together intimately. They were young but pureblood families often announced their heirs wedding early on. He was just shocked that their families had no issue with it. It seemed like both the families were rather excited about it. He knew that Potters had no issue with Blacks. The Black brothers often stayed at Potter Manor for holidays.

After being subjected to all the ranting of Bellatrix, he was sure that Black family would have an issue. But it looks like Nix has wrapped all three Black males around her finger. The rest of family's opinion didn't really matter, not in pureblood families.

It was sad that such a talented and beautiful girl would be married off to such a useless and reckless _Gryffindor._ Snape couldn't have held these two heirs more in disdain than anyone else. He had eavesdropped when Nix was leaving the Evans house. The manner in which they talked about the biggest gala of the year in such disregard and aloof manner made him furious. He would have given anything to attend one of those galas. They were the best way to create connections and achieve your ambitions. But these brats, who were given everything on a silver spoon, dismissed such opportunities like they weren't worthy of their time. 

He had noticed the sparkling bracelet that Nix was wearing. She hardly ever wore any jewelry, but she has been spotting this jewelry even when she came at Lily's. Black's gooey eyes and smug face told him that it was Black's gift to her. That bracelet alone could have bought his house, funded his 7 years of Hogwarts studies and other requirements with still some left to spare. And, Nix was wearing it as a daily wear. It must be nice not to worry about every sickles, and to have ultra rich boyfriend.

"Yes, we need new clothes every year. You five are growing so fast. Okay, then we only need books. Come on, lets go.", Mrs Potter said. Snape noticed that Potter was carrying Lily's bag while excitedly talking her ears off about the Quidditch world cup that was coming next year. _Idiot, his sweet Lily had no interest in quidditch_. But, he frowned at seeing Lily smile at Potter.

Lupin and younger Black were talking about something study related. Black and Nix were walking with their arms around each other. He saw Nix look curiously at the pies they were offering on the street. Black went straight to get it. Severus was always surprised at how well these four knew each other. He has seen them have whole conversations with just looks. 

Lupin and younger Black followed heir Black, who started to distribute pies after pies for everyone. Black handed over 10 galleons to the vendor like it was nothing. Everyone else was acting like it was nothing. Rich brats!

The pie eating party reached the book store. The mothers went to buy the books while the rest of the people went to different sections of the bookstore. Severus was in same book lane when Bellatrix bumped into Nix and Black, who were standing way too close in public. 

"Cousin. How are you? Wedding life treating you okay?", Black said jovially but Severus noticed that he had subtly placed himself between Nix and Bellatrix. 

"Oh yes, cousin of mine. Being a Lestrange is freeing. You see, I don't have to listen to brain washed purebloods anymore. Dark Lord will teach you all lesson on being proper pureblood!", Bellatrix sneered at Nix, who looked amused.

"I have to say that its good to see your ambition of changing the proper manner of high class pureblood women is still continuing. The casual sneering, cursing and yelling has my vote.", Nix said politely.

"You mudblood..", Bellatrix sneered and then jumped a foot high and looked around. Black and Nix were stifling their laugh.

"You alright, cousin? That was a brilliant high jump. Another new pureblood proper behavior, you are planning on starting?", Black asked her arrogantly  

"You..wait till Dark Lord finds you two smirking idiots!", Bellatrix shrieked and moved away; shoving Black aside. Black and Nix started to laugh. Severus saw Bellatrix drop something in the clothes bag which Black was carrying. Severus shrugged at that.  _Not my problem!_

"That was pleasant. Hey, did I tell you? Andy is pregnant!", Black told Nix excitedly. Nix looked giddy at that.

"That's brilliant! We should send some gift for her! Wait! Lets tell Prongs and mom!", Nix said excitedly as she went searching for her mother. Black followed her like a bloody puppy. Snape decided to look around and saw Lily talking to Potter about subways. 

"Sev! Hey! Where were you? Did you find the books you were looking for?", Lily asked him sweetly. He smiled back. Potter looked uncomfortable and Severus wished he would vanish.

"Prongs! Andy is pregnant!", Nix said as she crashed into Potter, who chuckled and looked delighted by the news too, even if they both fell down on the floor. _Did anything embarrass them?_ Lily was smiling fondly at them. Severus's frown got deeper.

"That's great! What gift are you thinking?", Potter asked his twin fondly as they both got up from floor. 

"I was thinking of a beautiful bassinet or that new musical instrument." Nix said excitedly.

"The one which plays soothing songs? Yeah, I think that would be better gift. As far as I have heard, young ones don't sleep a lot a night. Lets ask mom. Lily, you would be alright here?", Potter asked Sev's best friend as if he wasn't standing next to her. Arrogant prat!

"I will be fine. Sev is here.", Lily told him more sweetly than he would have preferred. Potters left to find their mother. 

Severus and Lily spend some time in bookstore before it was time to leave. He was so glad to be away from the one percent of society. It was suffocating to see how they got everything they wanted and more.

He didn't like the friendship between Potter and Lily. Black and Lupin didn't annoy him that much. Lupin was content with what he had; and Black was too wrapped up into Nix to even think about anyone else. Potter was the only one who could take Lily away from him and he would never allow that. Lily was his and he be damned if he let those pompous rich brats take the only good thing from his life! 

* * *

Sirius said calmly to Remus,"Try not to over think anything okay?"

Remus said still pacing at a furious pace," I'm not overthinking anything."

James said sarcastically," Yeah, right. That's why you are pacing for past half an hour." He finished with a yawn.

Remus looked at James dryly,"I am the only source of thinking between the three of us." Sirius and James looked at each other with thoughtful face.

"I am literally the only one who thinks anything through in this group.", Remus said as he continued  pacing. Sirius and James nodded in agreement.

Sirius asked him," And point of your pacing and overthinking is?"

Remus stood in front of James and Sirius with his hands on his waist,"Someone has to make sure that you don't die!"

James said,"Fair enough.*". Sirius nodded along and Remus let out a long suffering sigh. 

"It going to be fine Moony. We haven't died yet, we probably won't now. So relax!", Sirius said with a lazy smile with his arms slug around a equally smiling James. 

Sirius turned towards his gorgeous soulmate gliding gracefully down towards the ground. Nix changed back just before reaching the ground such that she simply transformed from gliding to walking without breaking her stride. His heart thumped at seeing her. James, the buggering prat, smirked at him knowingly.

"The area is clear and there is no one in sight. Even, Hagrid is in Hogsmade. The ground is clear and no one in their right mind would venture into forbidden forest at night. So we are good to go!", Nix said excitedly. 

"Someone else could die or worse be bitten by me! This is dangerous. We should go back to Whopping Willow. I don't know why I even listen to you reckless crazy people.", Remus ranted as he paced again.  

Nix said patiently," Moony, Padfoot and Prongs are big enough to stop you from running after someone. If they fail, I will simply grab you and fly far away. It's going to be fine!"

"Also we are smack in middle of the forbidden forest. Here even animals don't come. Stop mooning, Moony!", James said with an excited smile.

The full moon was at year's welcoming fest itself. They had finally managed to worn down Moony's reluctance of spending night exploring the forest, instead of wasting it in the Whooping Willow. He had begrudgingly agreed.

Sirius nodded and looked up. The full moon was shining brightly and at Remus signal, the three friends transformed into their animagii form. Maybe it was the dog in him but spending the whole night exploring the forest in his animal form made him extremely happy. Moony was happy and playful all night too. It was great!

* * *

James yawned loudly and settled comfortably by his twin's side. They had their first class of Artimacy class cancelled because Peeves had jammed the door of the classroom and was evidently creating a havoc in the class.

James was glad. He was tired. Exploring the forest was fun and exciting, but it was exhausting as hell. He yawned again.

"As a Hogwarts student, my favorite words are 'cancelled' and 'free'.", James said with a lazy smile to his batch mates.

"Free desert is cancelled.", Lily said dryly with mirth dancing in her eyes.

"Why..why would you even say something like that?*", James stammered, looking horrified at the possibility. 

Lily snorted at the identical horror look on the Marauder's group's face.

"Why do you guys keep roaming at night, when you are so tired in the morning?", Lily asked them curiously.

Sirius yawned and said,"We live in a castle, Lily. A castle. What good are the seven years, if we don't put in the effort to discover all of its secret?" The rest of Marauders nodded. Lily smiled. Her smile made him happy. Almost as happy Nix smile made him. 

_Huh? Nix was his sister. Making sure she was happy was his duty as her elder brother. Why does Lily smile affect him so much? She is his friend! He doesn't think of her that way...does he? No, she is his friend. Of course, he wants to see her happy._

_Lily is sweet, smart, brave and funny. She, also, has most mesmerizing eyes he has ever seen, and her hair is like a fire blaze. She also is very beautiful....He was going to shut up. He has started to sound like Padfoot._

"How have you guys never been caught? You sneak around almost every other night!", Cady butted in while smiling sweetly at Sirius. 

"What is the fun if there isn't the danger of being caught? Rules are meant to be broken.", Sirius said with a smirk, Cady's eyes glazed at that. Sirius gave omelette to Nix, who was suddenly annoyed.

James looked at Nix amused. She flushed. Sirius was watching the interaction curiously. James subtly pointed to Cady, who was sitting too close to Sirius. Sirius looked surprised at the fact Cady was sitting so close to him. He moved over and made Austin, who was passing by, sit between them. Sirius looked back at Nix with an appeasing smile. James could see that the prat was thrilled that Nix was slightly jealous of Cady. James shook his head.

"Rules are meant not to be broken! They are made to be followed. Nothing is meant to be broken!", Lily said reprovingly

"Pinatas!"

"Glow sticks"

"Eggs!"

"Wax seals!"*

Lily stifled a smile. But at the Marauders infectious grin, smiled widely. The group got up to go to the dorm. This year their dorm rooms have changed for all years (if there were two). James knew G3 did that to avoid suspicion. James, Sirius and Remus were in one dorm and rest in other. Peter was very upset about it but the other boys made a big show of how cool it would to have him in their dorm, that he cooled down fast enough.

All James could think of was his dorm bed. The warm and the comfort of his amazing bed...Nix suddenly grasped his hand tightly. He went on alert and looked at Nix's ashen face. He looked around to see what brought it on. 

His eyes landed on something he had hoped that he would never ever see again. That vicious magical serpent was slithering near the corridor. His eyes were fixed on Nix. It looked ominous and hostile.

James stood in front of Nix and stared down at the snake, who snarled at him. Nix pulled him behind. Her eyes were fearful. He shook his head and held his twins hand. They both looked at each other and nodded.

The snake was gone. They both looked around frantically but they saw nothing. James noticed that Sirius and Remus were still there, standing on alert with their wands drawn. The rest of their acquaintances have gone ahead. 

He breathed in relief. It would have been difficult to explain this behavior. Nix looked at him. They as one went to tell their G3 about this. Sirius and Remus had their back and followed them to the office.

"Morning, my minions!", G3 said jovially, but seeing both their ashen faces and wands drawn by Sirius and Remus, he gravely asked," What is it?"

"The serpent...the serpent is back!", Nix voice wavered as she told G3 this. G3 breathed deeply. At G3 nod, Nix elaborated,

"It was slithering near the corridor on second floor. It looked more solid than he did on that day. It was threatening Prongs! Do you..do you think he would harm Prongs?" Nix grabbed him protectively.

His heart was filled with love for his brave twin. There was a magical snake that was waiting for her, to do what, no one knew. But if past was an indication that snake would harm his twin, and she was more worried about him.

"Not yet, no. But if he thinks that Jamie is threat to his mission, then maybe.", G3 said soothingly. It had no soothing effect on Nix whatsoever. 

"I think that the magic is warning you. You must be closer to the strength Magic wants you to be. Don't engage in any form with this snake. When the time comes, he would appear automatically. James, I know you want to protect her but you can't engage with the snake. It might harm her if it feels threatened in anyway.", G3 said this while looking at Hogwarts ground.

"Go on, then! It would be fine. We still have time to worry about the snake.", G3 said smiling. The rest were placated by that but James saw G3 hands were clutched and were shaking. He knew that for now whatever time was left, it wasn't a lot anymore. His sister was is danger and he couldn't do anything about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *credit to the original Tumblr writers  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	30. Magnetism

"What happens when the morning bell rings?", Sirius asked Reg.

"We get breakfast!", Reg said excitedly. The Marauders looked amused at him. 

"It means that everyone will be at the Great Hall. Which means the corridor would be..."Sirius asked Reg

"Clean!", Reg said like an adorable puppy. Nix giggled at the head slap of the three male Marauders and innocence on Reg's face.

"Empty! The corridors would be empty! Merlin, Olaf!", Sirius said exasperated. James shook his head. 

"So sis, you know how we all hate Bellatrix?", James asked Nix. At Nix cautious nod, he elaborated," We have decided to target the Slytherins specifically for this year's opening prank. She should have good memories when she leaves, don't you think?" He grinned mischievously. 

Nix didn't like just targeting only the Slytherins for their yearly first big prank. She looked at them and saw how much it meant to them, especially the Black brothers. Sirius was giving her the puppy look. It was annoying that he could pull off puppy look so perfectly. Of course, being a grim helped.

"Lets target the whole school. We can add more things for Slytherins.", Nix said definitively. The others in the coach grinned. She momentarily forgot about everything as she saw the bright happy smile on Sirius's face directed at her.

Sirius got up from his seat. He came and wrapped around her like a Koala, with his hips and legs caging her legs; hands around her waist and neck; and resting his head on her shoulder. He sighed as if he was finally at peace. She squealed internally. She looked up to see James, Remus and Reg give her a pointed look. She felt a blush start to grow on her face. Nix cleared her throat.

They decided their plan of attack, and then went to sleep as they had a long night ahead of them. Today was full moon and they won't be getting any sleep. James, Remus and Reg slept within seconds. James could nap anytime and anywhere. Reg was a quick sleeper too. Remus must be tired. As full moon drew nearer, he became more moody, or at least as moody Moony could get, and was tired easily. 

Nix was happy that the new potion that Boo, Damocas and dad developed would remove the pain of transformation, which meant that Moony wouldn't be going through the horrific pain of transformation. Nix couldn't sleep. For some reason, this year had her a bit rattled and on edge. There was no real discernible cause for it. Except, she saw that bloody magical snake circling sleeping James, just a day before coming to Hogwarts. Not in a friendly way but like the snake was marking him or thinking of ways to attack him. Was her brother in danger? Has the time run out? What..

She inhaled sharply as Sirius, who she thought had fallen asleep wrapped around her, started to pepper her neck and shoulder with small kisses. She backed a little and looked at him. He looked so handsome with his hair falling gracefully on his face and his molten grey eyes that were looking at her like she was everything he would ever need. Her pulse rate increased. She swallowed.

He grinned wickedly. Nix felt her stomach constrict and flutter at same time. He leaned in forward and sucked that bloody spot on her jawline. Her hands reflexively clutched his waist. His grey eyes became darker.

Next thing she knew he was showering her with open mouthed hot kisses on her neck and shoulder. Nix covered her mouth with her hand to prevent those involuntary noises to escape. It would definitely wake the others. Sirius seems to have taken it as a challenge to make her loose her shit, because he started to suck, lick, kiss or simply brush his lip on her three newly discovered toe curling spots on her neck and shoulder, with enthusiasm.

"Sirius!", Nix whisper warned him. It's effect was lost as her voice was very husky and rough. He looked at her with those beautiful stormy grey eyes and it took her breath away to see the want and love radiating out of him. He bend forward to kiss her on her lips, when Rosier slid the door with a bang.

Sirius groaned loudly and slumped between Nix's neck and shoulder. His hair covered his face. His breathing was tickling her neck and causing goosebumps to erupt all over her skin. She felt Sirius grin against her neck.  _Idiot! Now is not the time!_  James and Reg fell down from their seats in surprise, and Remus looked annoyed at being woken.

Nix was trying to get her breathing and blush under control. It wasn't working well as Sirius was slowly kissing her neck, hidden from the view of others due to his gorgeous long bloody hair.  _Merlin! She was..oh...going to ..oh dear....mortify herself...aah..because Sirius..oh...that felt good..can't keep his wicked mouth..oh Merlin!...to himself...ah...shit..._

"Hi Si. Hi Reg. Would you like to join us for lunch? It would be in a better company then these blood traitors.", Rosier said sweetly to still hidden Sirius, who has proceeded to suck on Nix's neck now.  _Bloody hell! He found another toe curling spot on my neck. How many were there?_ Nix needed Sirius to stop or she was going to moan  _really loudly;_  and that was not something she wanted her brother or others in the compartment to ever hear. She squeezed Sirius's waist slightly and somehow, he knew to stop. He sighed and with a look of regret looked at Rosier. 

"No thanks. I rather have my sanity than listen to you all yap all day.", Sirius told Rosier dismissively. Nix saw annoyance on his face. She suddenly felt very happy about the fact that he wanted to spend time with her, not other girls who were begging for his attention. Sirius looked at her smiling face and gave her kiss on that bloody spot on her jawline. She gaped a bit. Sirius's mischievous grin almost split his face in half.  _Arse! She needed to get even with him._  

"Thank you, Bloom. But we are good here. We wouldn't want to disturb the enlightening and absolutely enthralling conversation going in your cabin.", Reg said politely. Nix smiled at him.

"You know the berth is empty for you to sit, Si. You don't have to sit wrapped around Potter like that! You are from 28 scared pureblood family, Si. Behave like one!", Rosier seethed. Nix couldn't hide her smile at her indignation.

Sirius looked at Rosier blankly and drawled,"Thank you for reminding me about that. Now, off you go. Don't disturb peaceful sleeping people again, Rosier." Saying this, he laid his head on Nix's shoulder and closed his eyes. Following him, the other boys went off to sleep as well. Nix smiled at her boys as Rosier left with a huff. Sirius placed a light kiss on her neck, she shivered. Grinning, he went to sleep.  _She really needed to get even with him. This was  getting ridiculous!_   

* * *

"I would like you all to aim for the stars!", Dumbledore finished his inspirational speech with a flourish and Sirius was splattered with food all over him. He looked incredulously at his friends, who grinned widely and said,"Dog Star! Woof Woof!". Sirius snorted and rolled his eyes. He cleaned himself up and looked around.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!!!", a loud shriek, almost like a banshee resonated across the Great Hall. The Marauders turned to look in glee as Bellatrix or what used to be Bellatrix, strode away from her beloved house table, no doubt, to scream in the Black heir's face, ended up skidding and toppling down on her face at the aisle. The fearful Bellatrix Lestrange had converted into Baloo from Jungle book, except for her face. 

Partial Baloo got up from the Slytherin table to murder him, only to shriek as her paws were wearing ice skating roller blades. Sirius knew Bella never learned skating stating it was a stupid mudblood sport. Sirius watched in glee as Bella got up and fell down, hard on the ice. Got up slowly again, only to fall down again. She took her wand off and cursed the 'bloody skates'. 

"Ohhhh.....You really shouldn't have done that!", Nix said loudly. Bella looked at her murderously.

"What she meant is, if we had done this prank,...", James added gleeful with his arms around Nix

"...then we would for sure have put fail safes...."

"...Like I don't know they won't come off for additional 18 hours or more...."

"..Or the skates' blade will get blunter, the more you curse...."

"...Or some other form of curses.."

"..But since, I or any of my mates didn't do this, maybe you should check.", Nix finished politely. Sirius saw Professor McGonagall look up to the ceiling as if begging for patience. Dumbledore and the rest of the professors looked on in amusement or anticipation. 

Bella, the ever fool, bend down to remove the blades, only to be shot with tickling charm. Remember the most evil character's happy laugh that freaked the hell out of you, that laugh was resonating through the hall. Sirius saw some of the first years curl into themselves. He saw Nix wave her wand and Bella stopped creeping the fuck out of everyone with her laughter.  _Merlin! Even her laugh was insane_.  _What in Ba-looo?_

Bella was fool sure, but she was consistently a fool. Bella bend down again to remove the skates, only for it to shoot a spell which transformed her hair into Lion's mane. Next try to remove her blades, the mane became bubble pink and bushier. Next try, she grew a snout. Next, she had whiskers, big, long, thick whiskers. Next her robes turned into neon yellow. Again, her hands turned into dandelion. She again tried to take her blades off by using her dandelion hands and her hands turned into Carrion flowers.  _Merlin's poop! That smelled worse than Merlin's poop! Oh poop!_  

Everyone covered their nose and gagged. Dumbledore got up and waved his wand over Bella. Nothing happened. Dumbledore sighed and waved his wand over Bella again and the smell was sucked out and a bubble  was casing her hands. 

"Anyways..Lets all have ice rings skating party! WoHoo!!", James yelled loudly. As soon as he said that everyone's shoes converted into ice skating blades. The aisles all over the Great hall were covered in ice, perfect for skating. The seating chairs had bars raised so that people could take support. 

The Marauders joined their friends in skating around the aisles. It was fun to skate. They had races to see who wins, relay races, volleyball game, and spontanteous dance offs. It was great!   

It became excellent when Sirius saw Snape looking handsome in magenta pink robes with his hair turned into electrified porcupine hairdo. His eyebrows were going bushier by the second. He had a big yellow bag and a vulture hat. 

The third years, who were all skating together except few, caught glimpse of Snape and their eyes grew big. It was Lily who snorted first and then the dam broke. Everyone was laughing their arses off. Snape looked muderous and with hatred at the Marauders. 

Nix controlled her laughter and smiled apologetically at Snape," Sorry, Snape. Your expression with that get up was very funny. We couldn't control our laughter. We shouldn't have laughed like this."

"We are sorry Sev. I shouldn't have laughed but you should have seen yourself.", Lily added with good natured teasing.

Snape looked  _warmly_  at Nix and Lily. Sirius didn't like him looking at Nix like that. It made his grim bare his teeth at the unshampooed dude. So he spun Nix around in tune with the song and started to dance with her. If dancing with her made him take Nix to other side of the Hall, it was all a coincidence. He saw James do same with Lily. Remus was dancing with Marlene and Voilet (Hufflepuff girl).

Dumbledore and Professor Scamandar enthralled the crowd with their boogie dance off. Snape sulked at the Slytherin table looking amazing. Sirius saw Lucius-ous haired one and Cissy dance elegantly. Cissy and Sirius both smiled at each other and went off dancing with their life partners. Reg started a dance off with his Olaf. Then they both proceeded to dance in free form. The others joined them enthusiastically.

Bella grumply sat in center of the Hall with her paws crossed over her huge tummy and her legs spread in a V. Every time she would tsk or sneer, her whiskers twitched funny and her snout would pout. Her bumble pink hair was shining in the summer light making people dance around her, making her center of merriment. It was great!

* * *

"Oh, oh..Sirius!", Nix breathless voice was urging him on. They were in his bed in his dorm at night. She was holding onto his shirt like it was the last lifeline to her sanity. Sirius was busy sucking and licking that incredible spot on her beautiful jawline. 

"Sirius!", Nix dug her toes in his legs. She pulled his shirt hard and few buttons came off with a pop. He was extremely turned on by that. He moved on top of her and bend down to kiss her on her full lips. He touched her sweet, soft lips. He sighed in that kiss. They kissed closed lips for a while.

He then lightly traced her lips asking for an entrance, which she instantly provided. Sirius slowly unfurled his tongue in her mouth and began to snog her. He flicked his tongue on top of her mouth. He sucked her lower lip between his own, nibbling it lightly. She was whimpering from the kiss. Sirius could feel her breasts pressed against his chest. 

He felt himself getting hard. Sounds coming from her were his aphrodisiac. This was heaven! This was amazing! He was never going to do anything else, ever again. Except snog the life out of his girl. She wrapped her toned legs around Sirius waist and held him there. He placed his hand on her exposed leg and her breath hitched. 

He began to kiss her harder, while slowly moving his hand up her leg. When the need for air increased, they broke apart. He started to kiss and bite her neck. Her hand was on his hair, keeping him there. He was more than happy to oblige to her commands. He...could hear something.  _Huh? Was that Prongs?! What?_

"Padfoot mate! Come on!", Prongs was yelling. Why was Prongs disturbing him? He was busy! He was kissing his girl and his best mate was disturbing him. Oaf! 

"Padfoot! We are late for breakfast! Come on!", Moony voice joined Prongs. Why were they not leaving him alone with Nix? What breakfast? He decided to ignore them and focus on kissing his beautiful soulmate. 

Only, Nix voice said,"Is he still sleeping? Padfoot, do you want to miss breakfast?" He looked at thoroughly kissed Nix in his arms in confusion. "Sirius Black! Get up!" Sirius sat up straight. He was heaving and sweating like he had an intense quidditch practice. He touched his lips and fell back.  _It was a dream? Merlin!_

He was still hard and needed a while to calm down. He opened his bed's curtains sheepishly, and sat at the edge of the bed. Remus and James were grinning at him widely; Nix looked worried at his sweaty state.

"You okay? You are all sweaty and flushed? Do you have fever? We can go to Madam Pompey.", Nix asked worriedly as she touched his forehead to check his temperature. Sirius skin started to tingle and his breathing increased.  _Merlin!_  He couldn't move his eyes from Nix's lips. He was trying really hard not to kiss her breathless right here, right now. James would probably smack him for doing that. 

Remus coughed really loudly. Sirius flushed more and cleared his throat. Nix looked even more confused and worried. Sirius saw her look at her twin in confusion, who chocking back his laugh. James shook his head and grinned. 

"Lets go, Buttercup! Moony will come with Padfoot.", James said while trying to take Nix away out of the room. Sirius was again watching her lips. He just couldn't stop staring at her. 

"But what if he is sick? Sirius, are you okay?", Nix asked him sweetly placing a concerned hand on his face. She sat down beside him on the same bed that he had the most erotic dream about her in his life. He could feel himself losing control. He shook himself internally.  _Say something. You are making her worried. Or maybe just kiss her a little. She really has nice lips...umm...._

"He is fine, Buttercup. Come on. Don't you trust Moony to take of him.", James said as he pulled Nix out of Sirius's bed. He gave Sirius a warning look. Sirius breathed in deeply and gave her a small smile.

"Of course, I do!", said a confused Nix, as she was dragged out of the room by grinning James. Sirius groaned and fell back on his bed. Sirius tried to control his breathing and his randiness.  _Merlin! That was intense!_ It wasn't first such dream he had of her, but this one was affecting him too much. An amused Remus sat beside him, silently waiting for him to speak again.

"Merlin! That was some dream! I wish it was real!", Sirius said wistfully, rubbing a hand over his face.

Remus shook his head amused,"Well, you looked ready to devour her in front of us. If I could give you some advice. Talk to Prongs before you take your relation with Nix any further. I know he would be fine but he is her ancient brother. He is fiercely protective of her, unlike any sibling we know. Even you won't get a free pass, if Buttercup is involved. So talk to him before you start actively pursuing your relationship with her."

Sirius nodded,"Did you notice that Prongs has gotten even more protective of Nix since those two saw whatever they saw that morning?" Remus nodded.

"Do you think she is danger? Or he is? He had been bunking with Nix for past week or so, because of the nightmares. I don't know what we can do to make it easier.", Remus asked anxiously.

"I asked him after Nix left for her dorm that day. He said that there was nothing anyone could do about it. Including Dumbledore. Apparently, this magical snake was responsible for putting Nix in comatose state all those years back. Prongs is worried what it could mean if it attacks or engages with her again. He says that the magical snake looks bigger, more solid and more viscous than before.", Sirius said gravely. His own dream has taken a backseat.

Remus sighed,"So I suppose, all we can do is be there for them. I never thought I would ever see fear in her eyes. But that day, she really was scared of that ..magical snake. Although, I think she was more worried that magical snake would attack Prongs." Sirius nodded. He felt the need to assure himself that his two best friends were alright. He got up to get dressed.

They met the twins in Great Hall. Sirius felt an involuntary blush and smile grace his face. Remus huffed a laugh. James looked at him amused. Nix face brightened at seeing him. His heart soared seeing her concern for him so plainly on her face. He grinned at her.

"Oh, hey! You feeling okay? Do you need to go to Madam Pompey?", Nix asked him worried. He wondered if her lips would feel same as they did in his dream. He pulled himself back together and shook his head with a grin. Nix smiled in relief. Remus and James hid their laughs behind their glasses. Prats.

Picking up the conversation from where she had left off, Nix excitedly said,"Well, Boo wants us to come to Uganda for summer, where we could do an internship in their ministry for a while. I think it would be fun."

James did not seem to share the same sentiment. Sirius frowned. Sirius was sure James loved spending time with Boo as much as Nix. When they were alone in Muggle Studies, Sirius asked James about it. 

"I liked him a lot too. I still do. But I overheard my parents having a conversation that has me irked at him. I know now that won't be possible at all, but still to think he could do something like this to me. It has made me mad at him. Brilliant bugger! I used to confide to him how much Nix being separated from me, scared me. Then to learn he was planning to do something like that has pissed me off." 

"Don't you like him? I thought he was great? And do what exactly?",asked a curious Sirius. James was very protective of Nix, with good reason. If James didn't think someone was good for her, he usually made sure they never spoke to her, or even came near her.

James only allowed Snape to even be in Nix's vicinity was because he was Lily's friend. That didn't mean Sirius and James didn't prank the hell out of Snape. Nix and Lily were not privy to it. They were sure it would piss the girls off. Well, Snape pissed both of them off too. Remus knew about their targeted pranking, but he turned a blind eye at that. He didn't participate but didn't stop them either. James and Sirius were fine by it. Snape was usually the practice bunny for many of their spells and pranks. That guy rubbed James and Sirius the wrong way by simply existing. 

"Boo or Baba, as I call him, is a good bloke. Honestly, he is one of the nicest guys there is. He is kind, sweet, caring, good looking and Nix level intelligent. I liked him till I heard mom-dad talk this Christmas that if Nix had agreed to it, they won't have minded arranging marriage between her and Boo. They are both compatible, plus his family loves Nix. And Uganda magic suited Nix. Also, he loves her too much. But thanks to you, my man, that topic is moot now. Nix will be with you and won't be taken away from me to another freaking country. Boo would have taken her away from me. So, he has been removed from my good list." finished an upset James. 

"Wait, isn't Boo an old guy? How can your parents even think of marrying her to someone old? Nix would never have gone for it!", said an agitated Sirius

"Boo is ħelu, Sirius. He is only three years older than us.", James said resigned. Sirius looked shocked and then felt anger and panic set in.  

Sirius knew Nix was crazy smart and would dumb things down so that everyone else understood her. He had seen her in enough discussions with NEWT year Ravenclaws' to know, she outsmarted them all constantly. But to know a guy, just 3 years older than her, was on her intelligence level and cared about her so much, made him uncomfortable. That was not even counting the fact that Boo was a royalty in Uganda. It meant that..

"...he could have taken her away from me." James finished his thought looking as disgruntled as he felt. 

"But he won't anymore, right?", Sirius asked with apprehension.

"You are her soulmate, brother. They can't, even if he wants too! Why do you think Misambe was so upset seeing both of yours animagii form? So I owe you one. I have only one request, please let me see her often.", James looked at Sirius, with almost a begging expression.

"Prongs, mate. You hurt me. Do you honestly think so low of me that I won't let you meet her? She is her own person, mate. I would never tell her not to do something. She has more functioning  brain cells, than all of us combined. More than that, how would I stay sane without meeting you on a daily basis!?", Sirius said with a smile. James grinned in delight and hugged him so tight, Sirius was sure some of his ribs broke.

"So you are okay with me being your twin's soulmate?", Sirius whispered to James. James nodded enthusiastically. Sirius beamed. "You don't mind me, umm.. perusing the relationship further with her, do you?", Sirius asked. He was turning red in face. James looked pensive for a moment.

"I have no issue with it, mate. All I request is that you take it at a slow pace. With everything that is going on, I don't want her to feel overwhelmed about anything.", James said 'siriusly'. Sirius nodded in agreement. He had no need to rush, they had their whole life. But he really wanted to start their relationship. He was glad that James was okay with it all.

"I am very happy that she choose you as her partner, brother. Having said that, if you hurt her in any way I would come after you. You being my best mate won't be anywhere near my mind at that time.", James warned him. Sirius gulped. He had first hand knowledge of James magical poweress and wrath. Sirius nodded. James grinned and hugged him. 

* * *

Nix entered the boys dorm. She breathed in relief seeing that there was no fourth bed. Finally, she won't have to squash her extreme need to plummet Peter to death every time she saw him or heard his bloody squeaky voice. James has kept good on his promise and distanced himself from Peter, without making it a big deal. She still saw him following her brother and Sirius when they went to muggle studies. She knew he took that subject because he wanted to be close to her brother. Why can't he leave her brother alone? Rat!

She shook her head of negative emotions and looked around the dorm. Remus bed was clean and empty. He must have gone to go the study groups or something. James was out in Herbology hut. Nix grinned thinking back to the conversation.

"Oh, Lily, are you going to the Herbology hut, too? Is it okay, if I join you? I haven't really seen this plant properly before.", James asked Lily. His voice pitched high in middle. He caught Nix's smirk and blushed. Lily was blushing too as she nodded. Off the two 'friends' went to Herbology to 'study'. Nix knew they both have sort of completed their homework. Lily just had to correct her description of plant. James knew everything about the calming plant. Considering they had a whole of them in their backyard. She chuckled at her brother tactics of wooing his 'friend' who he didn't like that way. Idiot.   

Sirius was reading some business book, no doubt from his dad, on his dorm bed. She went and sat beside him. He marked the book and kept it at the side table. Nix yawned and settled comfortably next to him. Sirius wrapped his arm around her. Nix settled in more comfortably.

"So, Prongs is out in Herbology hut because he has never seen the calming plants before.", Nix said dryly. Sirius snorted,"Lily?". Nix nodded with a smile. Sirius said,"Well at least he is getting a move on. He still hasn't realized that he likes her, likes her."

"Likes her, likes her?", Nix asked him with an eyebrow raised. Sirius smiled at her softly and moved her strands of hair to other side. 

"Yeah, like I like you, like you. You know a crush but stronger.", Sirius whispered as he brushed his lips along the contours of her neck. Goosebumps erupted along over Nix's body and then remembered that she needed to get even with him. 

"Oh that's nice...So what are you studying?", Nix asked him casually, as she lightly trailed her fingers through his stomach up towards his neck. 

"Oh, this book..ahem...is about some real estate buildings. It has ..", Sirius faltered as Nix turned her head and started to trail her nose and lips on his neck. 

"Yeah? And?", Nix whispered as she brushed her lips against his pulse. Sirius shivered. He cleared his throat and started to say something about the something. Nix was too busy kissing his neck to listen. Sirius was breathing heavily and his hand tightened around her waist. He inhaled sharply when she kissed a particular spot below his ears on his jawline. She sucked on that spot while her hand was grazing his stomach. 

Before she knew it, she was flat on her back with Sirius hovering over her. Sirius bend down to kiss her on her lips. Nix actually waited for something to interrupt them as has become a norm in past few days. But, nothing happened. She saw Sirius's determined look and closed her eyes. His slightly rough lips brushed against her soft ones lightly before settling comfortably against her lips.

She sighed. Her soul and magic was literally singing in joy. She smiled into the kiss and felt Sirius do the same. He started to move his lips a bit, she mimicked his movements. They both pulled back and smiled at each other.

Nix ran her fingers through Sirius's hair lovingly. He traced his thumb from her forehead, to her nose, to her cheek, and to lips. He paused when he traced the lips lightly once, then met her eyes. His eyes were darker than she had seen before. There was want and need in his eyes that resonated within her. 

As one, they fused their lips together again. She felt a shiver go down her spine as Sirius lightly traced her lips with his tongue asking for entrance. She opened her mouth and Sirius slowly unfurled his warm tongue in her mouth.

They began to slowly explore each other's mouth. She pressed closer to him as he continued to flick top of the mouth and massage her tongue alternatively for a while. The kiss got stronger in intensity, the longer they kissed. They parted again and stared at each other. They were both breathing heavily. Nix licked her lips, when Sirius almost growled and snogged her again.

This kiss was stronger than the previous ones. Nix sucked his lower lip between her lips and nibbled on it slightly. She felt his involuntarily jerk against her hips. This brought a gasp from both of them as his growing hardness jerked against her growing wetness.

Nix kissed him hard and they rolled with her on top. She ran her one hand up and down his shoulder and the second was scratching his beautiful silky hair. She swallowed his groan that seemed to have come from deep within. Their kiss continued for a while alternating between languid and frenzy. After a long time, when they stopped snogging, Sirius was again on top and they were both panting and sucking in huge gulps of air.

"So I guess, you don't need air as much snogging, huh?", Nix asked Sirius teasingly, slightly breathless. Sirius was trying to get his breath under control. He snorted and then dissolved into laughter fits. 

He calmed down and cupping her face smiled, sweetly said," Air is overrated. Snogging is very essential for well being of humanity,  _A chroí_ ”, Sirius pronounced the last words as  _uh KHREE._ At her questioning look, he explained with that small smile and sweet look that left her even more breathless (she was still trying to get her breathing to normal rate),"It means My heart in Irish,  _A chroí” ._ Nix blushed and smiled. 

She pushed up and began to kiss him slowly and gently, hoping that she was able to show all her feelings in that kiss. When they pulled back, Sirius eyes were a bit misty but his smile dazzled her.

Sirius sniffed and sighed. He sat up and helped her to sit up as well. Nix took the haggard appearance of Sirius. His shirt was rumpled from where she has grabbed it during their kisses; his hair was a mess; his lips were swollen; his eyes were bright and happy. He looked so alluring that she wanted to kiss him again.

Nix realized that her state must be worse or equally bad, if his re-darkening eyes were any indication; and James doesn't need to have an heart attack so early in his life. Nix adjusted her top, which had ridden up, and tied her hair into a ponytail. She felt satisfied that her appearance was decent enough, but paused at Sirius's smirk.

"Your lips are swollen from our mind blowing snogging session,  _A chroí",_ Sirius said smugly as he lightly traced her lips. Nix couldn't resist and pecked his lips again. Sirius looked giddy. 

"There really isn't something I could do about it, nor do I want to.", Nix said unabashedly.

Before Sirius could reply or snog the life out of her, James came barging in. He looked happy as well. Nice raised her eyebrow at that. James looked at both of them and raised his eyebrow at them. Nix shrugged in 'it would have happened anyways. What can you do.'. James shook his head fondly. Nix wagged her eyebrows at grinning James.  

"Lily and I spent almost the entire morning walking along the Hogwarts ground. It was great! We spoke about so many things. Did you know that her sister is seeing a therapist about her nightmares? Apparently, she has been unable to sleep properly because she keeps getting these awful nightmares. They started after Lily left and Petunia refused to even say goodbye to her."

"Wait! Lily told you all that?", Nix asked him incredulously. She knew about it as Lily had cried to sleep for 3 days in a row. First night, Nix felt guilty about leaving one friend for another. So she told guys she would join them later, as Lily needed her more then. Lily had fallen asleep early and everyone else was either asleep or out by then. She snuck out flew out one of the corridors towards the forest.

She met the Marauders after taking stock of Hogwarts ground and staff as Buttercup. For added safety, she cast a small alerting charm at the edge. So if someone had entered the forest that night, she would have known about it and could have prevented a werewolf attack. After that night, she had bunked in with Lily till Lily was able to sleep peacefully again. Then James started having nightmares and she bunked with him for a while.

"Yeah! I am also her friend, Buttercup. She confides in me some of the things and I tell her some of the things. That's what friends do, right?", James asked her challenging. 

"Yes, of course.", Nix accepted with a smile, raising her hands in surrender. 

"It was great! I wonder, what there is for lunch? Its in few minutes, want to get changed? Also, what did you guys do all morning?", James said teasingly. 

Nix blushed a bit.  _Wasn't she supposed to not blush now? She doesn't think her brain has gotten the signal yet. It was time for lunch? Merlin! How long have they been snogging?_ Sirius pulled her solidly next to him and gave her a quick strong kiss on her lips.

"This!", Sirius answered James with loopy smile. James smiled at them and then jumped into Sirius bed, hugging them both.

"I am so happy for you guys! Please, please for sake of my sanity and everything pure to Merlin, don't make me witness you two snogging. Kiss and pecking is fine. But no snogging or any other hot moments in front of me. I don't ever want to hear that or see that. I also think, it goes for Remus as well. The poor bloke might actually have a seizure. So have mercy!", James said to blushing but smiling soulmates. They both nodded quickly.

"So quidditch trails......" The three settled in comfortable flow of conversation. James ignored the few times the love birds got lost in others eyes.  _Were eyes that interesting?_ He didn't know. His mind flashed to a certain red haired face with entrancing green eyes. He shook his head and continued the talks with his sister and future brother in-law. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	31. Genesis

"...Sirius has smashed the bludger towards McMillian, who has just missed it by a whisker. James Potter has taken the quaffle from McMillian and is racing towards the holes ( _"Mr Lupin, its been two years! Surely you know by now they are called GOALS!!", Aunt Minnie bellowed at Remus.)_ That is exactly what has happened, Professor. James has managed to sneak past the Ravenclaw keeper, Pine, and has GOALED!! GRYFFINDOR 120-80."

"Ravenclaws are falling behind and the captain, Bones, is currently picking a bone with her seeker, who instead of searching for snitch is chatting up Gryffindor seeker. Regulus Black, the younger and smarter Black, and Phoenix Potter are gossiping in the air. Only tea is missing to complete the casual gathering picture of the two seekers. Tea and umbrella. It looks like it going to rain cats and dogs, people. I have a cat sitting beside me ( _"Mr Lupin!", Aunt Minnie yelled)_ , who is very elegant and currently looking like she would maul me; so dogs will be falling through the sky, people, no cats. Because cat's are elegant and smart and.. (" _Move on, Mr Lupin", Aunt Minnie drawled)_. Right then, hope everyone came with their handy umbrellas."

"Senior Black almost got whacked by the thing he is supposed to whack, because he was busy daydreaming about his girlfriend. (Nix laughed as she caught Sirius flying kiss. The two seekers started to laugh really loudly, when James came and started to yell at Sirius to focus on the match and drool over his sister later.) James Potter seems to reprimanding Senior Black about not focusing on the very, very important league Quidditch match. You would think he would be mad about Senior Black flirting with his sister in between the match, but nope. Senior Potter has his priorities straight."  

"Well, the tea party between the brainy Black and gorgeous Potter seems to have come to an end. No James, boys are handsome not gorgeous. Stop pouting! Brainy Black is circling the ground from above in search of the snitch. I wonder if we will see some gravity defying stunts by the two highly qualified seekers. Gorgeous Potter is still in the same spot as before, humming 'do-dah-do-dah'. Don't lie to me. I know that was what you were humming, Nix. The sky has opened its door to flood the entire stadium with bone chilling water. Take out your umbrellas and settle down, its going to be wet ride."

"Mary MacDonald, the new chaser of Gryffindor team, meanwhile, is zig-zagging through what looks like a obstacle maze formed by the Ravenclaw members. She has expertly dodged five members till now, Oh the bludger just missed her head, that would have been nasty. She is flying with determination and cute little concentration pout, no, I meant fierce determination which will make anyone sweat. She has thrown the quaffle...Its BLOCKED by Pine. Nicely pined, buddy. But, that was some classy flying displayed by the chaser."

"Joanna of Ravenclaw has the quaffle and she passes it to her brother, who has a clear shot of the holes....and the quaffle is flying towards the middle hole...BLOODY HELL! THAT WAS RUDDY BRILLIANT! John Watson, the magnificent keeper and Captain of Gryffindor, has appeared out of thin air and slapped the quaffle in other direction..."  

Nix zoned out the match and started to look for the snitch at John's signal. She flew around bit to try and spot the allusive golden ball. As she was looking, she caught a blurry glimpse of snitch flying near the Hufflepuff stand. Nix saw that Reg was at the other end of the stadium. She flew towards the snitch at fast pace. As if knowing it was going to get caught, the snitch flew straight up in the sky. The rain was pouring down hard now. Looks like cats and dogs both have come to the party to rain with vengeance.  She buckled down and speed towards the snitch. 

She was vaguely aware that Reg has started to follow her. The snitch was still flying straight high above. She must be now about 100 feet or so above the ground, but the snitch kept going up. Nix's bones were getting stiffer and her clothes were drenched to the bone in extremely cold water. The fast wind was not helping her in anyway. She knew she needed to catch it now or her reflexes won't be as good. Reg was almost there speeding forward, about to catch up. Nix lurched forward and just managed to snag the snitch, as her broom completed a 360 degree spin. She looked up in victory and her whole body froze. 

Lightening flashed and thunder rolled over, her scream of  horror was lost amidst it. There in front of her, was the giant magical snake of over a kilometer length, pinning her down with his stare. He looked solid and was vibrating with magic. It opened his huge mouth to seemingly strike her, when another lightening stuck her broom's tail. Her broom exploded from the impact (thankfully, the broom maker had made provisions to prevent riders from being electrocuted, by making broom take the majority of the energy) and she was thrown back towards the ground.

Her body was tingling as if zapped and darkness was slowly taking her over. She knew she was falling 100 feet down in free fall and the snake was looking at her like she was meat and he was starving. The last thing she remembered as darkness took over was a horrified scream as she kept falling down, with the snitch still fluttering in her hand.   

* * *

She was in a house. A comfortably sized, two story stone constructed building with a small gate and hedges surrounding the front yard and cobblestones decorating the outside walls. Nix could feel an ancient protection spell vibrating around the house. As a Phoenix, she could have seen the intricate design of the protection spell. 

Her brother, who has grown up to be ruggedly handsome, had a loving smile on his face as he made smoke rings for her nephew. Harry looked exactly like James in his toddler photos. The little mini-James. Harry had same mop of a hair, smile and even laugh of her brother. He was trying to catch the smoke ring using his pudgy little cute hands. He was so happy, adorable and quick. Nix heart warmed and she went ahead and sat beside them on the couch, watching her brother and her nephew play happily.

Lily came from somewhere inside to take Harry. Her brother became gooey eyed watching her in his quidditch shirt and shorts. Nix snorted. For all the complaining he did regarding Sirius acting like a damn puppy, here he was being worse than Sirius. Lily picked up Harry and kissed James. James hummed and ruffled his hair. Her adorkable brother was madly in love with Lily. It was so sweet. She wanted to hug him tightly in happiness.

Lily went upstairs, presumably where the nursery was. James closed his eyes and relaxed on the couch. His wand got stuck between the coach cushions. It was good to see her brother in bliss and happy. This was a happy vision then. That was good. 

They always say never jinx the good things. She had jinxed it, because she felt the magic walls break down. She yelled at James about it, but it was useless. It was all useless. Suddenly, the front door banged open and James woke up with a start. He ran towards the door, leaving his wand behind. Nix screamed in frustration because she knew, she knew- this was what she had seen in her first vision. This is where her brother is going to die. She ran after him, nonetheless.

_James’s frantically yelled,“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off ——”_

How was he going to hold him off? His brother had no wand! Come on James, hit him on his bloody perfect nose, it won't make a difference. He will have none in future. Come on, lets see how this coward deals in actual physical fight. Voldemort, not yet Lump, laughed and raised his wand. Nix went to stand in between them, she knew it was useless but she couldn't help it. Her brother, her amazing brave brother, stood proud and straight backed in face of death, hoping to give his wife and child enough time to run. 

The killing curse was sent by a laughing Lump. The curse went through Nix and hit her brother, who dropped down with a thud. Hysteria was taking over Nix as she rushed to check over her brother. His always warm, loving eyes were blank, dead. Gone. There is no one left in the shell of his body now. Her brother has left this earth. But Nix has no time to grieve as Lump was leisurely moving towards Lily and Harry. Nix was praying to everyone and anyone, that Lily has had the time to apparate out of the house.   
   
Nix could hear someone stumbling from a room. Lily was still here. Damn it! Lump bursts the door open and with a cackle of high-pitched laughter, pointed his wand at Lily. Toddler Harry was standing on his pudgy little legs laughing as if it was a game. Knowing her brother like she did, they both probably did some sort of theater to entertain their child, a lot. Harry thought the man in the mask was James and it was all a big show. But James was gone....Her brother was gone....

Nix saw Lily stand in front of Harry, begging Lump, “ _Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!”_  
_Lump, to her amazement, warned Lily,“Stand aside you silly girl … stand aside now.”_

Wait, did Lily say not Harry. Harry? Lump has come to kill a one year old? Harry! What? Why is he giving Lily an out. Why not kill her without a moments delay, just like he killed her brother without a thought? Lump didn't care about killing. He enjoyed it. She can see it in his eyes, the satisfaction he gets from killing people. So why not kill Lily straight up? But why target Harry, at all? He was baby! A one year old, innocent, harmless baby! What has a one year old done to be hunted by this vile creature?

_Lily continued to beg, still standing in front of Harry,“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —– ”_

_Lump warned her again, but Nix could detect impatience this time,"Get away girl. I will not ask again. Stand aside now!"_  
_Lily begged again, standing her ground,“Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy…"_

Lump laughed in a shrill voice and then the blinding killing curse flashed across the room- killing Lily, who fell on the floor dead, just like her brother. Her bright green eyes were empty but they still held her tears. Harry, who had until that moment assumed it was simply his parents playing games with him, started to cry. The crying seem to be unnerving Lump. He pointed his wand right in the child's face with a satisfied look on his face. This coward inhuman piece of shit was happy to finally kill a whole family for his fun. Fucking bastard!

Nix stood in front of Harry, knowing again it was fruitless, but damn it! Voldemort proceeded to cast the killing curse on baby Harry. When the whole cottage shook and the curse rebounded on the wide eyed Voldemort, who fell down, dead. Except Nix felt his 'soul' or a some of it leave the cottage in rage. She breathed in relief that not all was lost, her nephew was very much alive with that bloody mark on his forehead. Like he was marked or something. But how...?   

* * *

Nix opened her eyes and saw that she was in Hospital wing. She could feel her brother's fear. She breathed in relief.  _Her brother was alive. He was alive! She could feel him. He was fine! Breath!_  It was dark at night, so it must be dinner time. Only, G3 was sitting beside her bed. 

"Hello, my pirate. Are you feeling okay? You were lucky that the broom took most of the lightening hit. But you were a bit electrocuted. You have been unconscious for couple of hours now. Madam Pomfrey has done exceptional work in piecing you back together. Nix, love, are you okay?", G3 finished worriedly at not getting any response from Nix apart from her blinking.

G3 helped Nix sit up and drink water. "Please ward the area.", Nix requested in small voice. G3 looked more concerned but did as she asked. Nix replayed all of her last vision she saw and felt. G3 had a calculative and far off look on his face. It was as if Nix was confirming what he has been suspecting for a long time.

"How did Harry survive? No one has survived the killing curse. So, why Harry? Why even target Harry? Why give an option to Lily, a muggleborn, to step aside, when he killed the rest with no hesitation?", Nix listed out the things that has been bugging her since she saw the vision.

G3 got up looking out at the almost full moon. He paced for a while and then turned to her and explained his hypothesis,

"I can't be sure but from everything you have seen so far, I could venture a guess. Why Voldemort was after Harry and why did he give an option to Lily, despite being a muggleborn, when he had no qualms of killing rest, I don't know. But, Harry was saved by his mother's love. She died knowing full well she could stay alive. She was given an option to stay alive but she chose death to protect her son, instead. That evoked the ancient magic of love protection. Her love for her son protected him from being killed by Voldemort."

"When you told me about the horrible childhood Harry had, and my role in placing him there, I couldn't look myself in mirror for days. I couldn't understand why I would leave Harry with such awful people. Why didn't I take him, or place him someplace else? After this vision, I have realized something. Voldemort was not dead, you felt him yourself after his body hit the floor. He was always afraid of death, Riddle. I am pretty sure, I figured that he would have made insurance for coming back. Which path he chose for it, I am still not sure but he chose something, I am certain about that."

"The reason I was such a cruel bastard to Harry was because Lily scarified herself to protect her son. Her son who vanquished or helped delay Voldemort rise to power. Technically it was his mother, not the son but I am sure the magical world needed a savior. So the one year old was crowned the savior. He was in more danger than anyone would have realized. Voldemort followers are equally horrible and would have hunted him down. I am sure I left him with Lily's sister in hopes that her love for her sister would overcome her hatred for magic and she would treat him decently. I was very wrong on that account. But keeping him there served the primary purpose of keeping Voldemort and his followers away from him. Her sister's blood kept Lily's protection alive."

"Did that justify the horrible childhood? No, it didn't. But keeping him alive must have taken precedence. James and Lily died for their child, I probably wanted to keep him alive for their sake. I can't say why I did what I did and why I wasn't there for him, when he needed me. But it solves some of the questions in my head."

"From what you have told me, I will start looking for ways he could have tried to defy death. But the rest we will discuss later. I hear footsteps. Your parents, quidditch team and your friends have arrived to meet you. Before I let them hound you, are you okay, Nix? That vision must have been heart shattering for you.", G3 asked her gently

"I feel fine, G3, physically at least. As for the emotional trauma, I just went through. No I am not fine but I will break down at night. I can handle them, right now. James will explode, if we keep him away any longer. His separation anxiety is acting up.", Nix told her G3 gravely and then breathed deeply and smiled.

G3 gave her hug and went to get everyone in. Mom literally flew inside the room and engulfed Nix into a hug, kissing her all over her face. Dad came and sat on other side of the bed, while James, Sirius, Remus, Reg and Lily sat the end of the bed, the rest of the quidditch team gathered around the bed.

"Honey, are you okay? You were stuck by lightening! Of course, you are not okay! Do you need anything? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired? Hurt?", Mom was worriedly asking as her hand kept checking her for injuries, assuring herself of her daughter's presence. 

Nix smiled,"I am fine, mom. Just a bit tired, nothing else. I wasn't stuck by lightening. My broom was....Oh Merlin! My broom! Its gone, isn't it?", Nix asked sadly to James, who nodded mournful. 

Nix saw Lily look incredulously at the whole room who looked more upset that Nix's lost her broom than the fact that Nix was stuck by lightening! Nix lips twitched at Lily's reaction. 

"Its okay, Princess. I will get you a new one. The latest model? Nimbus 1005? Yeah? The important thing is, you are okay.", Dad said, hugging Nix tightly. Nix took comfort in his presence. He could always make her feel that no matter what was happening, he would always be there for her. That thought was very comforting.

"What happened in the match?", Nix asked after a while, when she had hugged everyone and calmed them down.

"You caught the snitch, so we WON! (There was cheering around the room) But then the lightening stuck and you were in free fall. James flew across the field and somehow, managed to get you before you hit the ground. You were non-responsive for a while, but you were breathing.", John explained softly

"Dumbledore brought you here and Madam Pomfrey assured us that you were knocked out but fine.", Remus explained

"I tried to catch you, but your momentum was very fast. I couldn't get to you. You are fine, right?", Reg asked her concerned.

Nix nodded but her eyes were trained at James, who was staring at her and hasn't said a single word since he got in the hospital wing. She looked at Sirius, who shook his head. She smiled at her brother, brightly. Her brother seem to defrost slightly but still refused to say anything. Madam Pomfrey came in then and kicked everyone, including G3 and her parents, out. 

Nix waited patiently as she was checked over and pretended to fall asleep. She was waiting for her brother to come. He did not disappoint. He silently bunked in her bed. They both stared at each other. Nix was extremely happy to see his warm hazel eyes brimming with emotions, instead of being blank and dead. She smiled brightly at her very much alive and healthy brother. His face crumbled and she hugged him close. She could do something right now, and Merlin save anyone who tried to come between her and her brother. 

The dam broke and James started to cry. "I can't loose you..you un..understand me. You are not allowed to die! I..I thought I saved your corpse from crashing to the gr..ground! You can'ttt leave me alone..."

Remembering her vision, Nix started to cry as well. They both cried for the other and slept hugging each other tightly. Unknown to them, Sirius and Remus had snuck into the room and were crying silently in the back, giving the twins space they needed. 

* * *

"Is this your time of month, too?", Nix asked Remus, who was lying on the bed trying to adjust his body to provide maximum relief from all the body ache.

"Yeah. Are you on yours as well?", Remus asked her compassionately. Nix nodded and went and bunked with him. 

"Uh... Moony should I be worried about having you as my competition? Because I gotta tell you, I would lose.", Sirius asked Remus teasingly as he slid behind Nix, enveloping Nix in a warm hug. Nix buried her face in his chest and sighed.

"Why, of course. I love her, after all. And she has just accepted my proposal.", Remus replied as teasingly. Sirius smiled and Remus saw him slowly massaging her pained body.  

Remus smiled. He was happy that his sister in everything but blood, had such a caring boyfriend. No wonder, James hasn't killed him for snogging his baby sister. Even if he was increasing hexing anyone who looked at Nix wrong, if Sirius didn't get to them first. He didn't disagree with defending Nix's honor or whatever (even though she didn't need help), but those hexes were sometimes on meaner side. 

Remus was a bit worried about the increased number of hexes and jinxes that James and Sirius were targeting students with simply because they annoyed them or they were bored. It usually happened when Nix wasn't around. She didn't approve of it. They used minor spells and mostly, targeted Snape or Bellatrix and her followers, who were nasty in general. Remus figured he should say something but they weren't hurting anyone innocent. So he figured he would leave it for now.

James came into the dorm bringing four cups of hot chocolate. He looked worriedly at both their conditions. He silently offered them the hot chocolate. Nix sat between Sirius legs as James took her previous place. Sirius continued to massage her sides.

"Wasn't the new potion supposed to help with the pain?", James asked Remus worriedly.

"Its only effective against external pain, like the pain caused by bone breaking or bone rejoining. This pain is more internal, part of the curse acting up. I don't know if we can change it. We are trying to see if we can reduce the pain. But complete removal may not be possible.", Nix said worriedly as she looked at Remus in apology. Remus hugged her, going over James. 

"Its not your fault, Nix. You have done more than I could have ever hoped for. Hell, you three have done more than I could have ever imagined when I started Hogwarts. You don't know the horrible experiences we had, when I told anyone that I was a werewolf. I would have been more than happy with just your acceptance, but you three went above and beyond that. You became animagii for me. You are developing potions and trying to find cure for people affected like me. You have changed the society's thinking positively in our direction. You have  _nothing_ to be sorry for. This pain doesn't even bother me that much. Stop beating yourself over it.", Remus said with a smile to them. They all group hugged. Remus looked at Nix in concern.

"There has to be some potion or spell to make you feel better? There has to be some spells to reduce the stomach cramps, Buttercup. I refuse to believe that no one has discovered spells to reduce a discomfort affecting half our population.", Remus mused.      

Next day, the Marauders spread around library, trying to find some form of spell or potion to reduce or remove the pain Nix was in. This was something they could do. Remus was in the row adjacent to the one where Nix was browsing in self care section. Nix was reading some book with interest. Sirius looked at the title of book incredulously and plucked it out of Nix's hand.

"Hey!", Nix indignant protest stopped when she saw it was Sirius. She flushed. Remus saw the title 'How to be prefect proper pureblood lady and the woman he wants'. He understood Sirius's reaction. Nix was brilliant, yeah she had her faults as did everyone. She didn't need those books. Sirius was madly in love with her anyways, she didn't need tips. Honestly the way most of the guys looked at Nix, she needed no help at all. Although those boys might need help getting to hospital wing, once James and Sirius were done torturing them. 

"Why are you reading this book,  _A chroí_?", Sirius asked her in a very soft tone. ' _A chroí'_ was something Sirius has started to call her frequently. Mostly when these two were alone (Remus had sharper ears than the four combined). Remus had cooed internally when Sirius explained its meaning to James. It was perfect for her, them. She was his heart, after all. 

"Nothing. I was trying to see what it said. That's all.", Nix said evasively. She looked away. 

" _A chroí..",_ Sirius implored her. He turned her head gently towards him. He was giving her his damn puppy look. It was infallible. He has yet to meet anyone who resisted that look of his. Even Professor McGonagall, couldn't resist it. And sure enough, Nix catapulted.   

"It has been pointed out to me on several occasions that I am not the proper lady pureblood lady. Or that I don't look or behave or act like a proper pureblood lady. Or the fact that I don't possess basic fashion sense...basically that I suck at being a proper girl. I never really cared about it all. But you are heir to one of the most conservative pureblood house. I wanted ....I didn't want you to be embarrassed by me when we, umm.., get married.", Nix muttered. Sirius visibly softened. 

" _A_ _chroí,_ the day you embarrass me would be the day when Dumbledore would be declared a squib. Honey, you are amazing, talented, smart, beautiful, caring and so compassionate. You are more proper than most of the pureblood proper woman I have encountered. Honestly, you are so elegant and so intriguing. You can navigate all sorts of crowd, with an expertise that I haven't seen in, even, the most seasoned Proper arseholes. You are so beautiful inside out, that it is impossible for me to not be attracted to you every second of the day. Your brain makes you so sexy, that is not to say your body is not, but your intelligence makes you so bloody hot. As for fashion....you are the trend setter,  _A_ _chroí._ Stop listening to those jealous stuck ups and narrow minded people. Be you, because I will love whoever you choose to be.", Sirius tenderly said this to Nix, who had misty eyes, cupping her face with his palm. 

Remus was crying at the pureness of their love.  _Damn these two for making me loose my composure in public like this! But that was so bloody sweet! How can the same guy, who mercilessly hexes people who piss him off, be so tender and soft with his girlfriend?_ Remus heard a sniff and turned to see James crying too. They both nodded and turned to see the love birds.

"I ..you...Are you sure? Because I can try to be more 'proper girl' (Nix grimaced at that). I mean, I don't want to cause you any trouble, if that's what is needed as a heir's ...", Nix  rambling stopped when Sirius kissed her sweetly. She sighed and they deepened their kiss. After what seemed like ages, they pulled apart.

"I am sure,  _A chroí_ _._ If you want to do something, do it because you want to, not because you think I want you too. If you are happy with a change, I will be happy too. Trust me. And, don't worry about the heir crap. Leave it to me. To make you happy, I would make anything happen, okay?", Sirius said with a smile. Nix hugged him. Remus could hear her 'Thank you'. Sirius kissed her forehead.    

"Did you find any spell or potion that could be useful for your pain, instead of this garbage?", saying that Sirius threw the book away in disgust.  

"Not really. There are few spells but they aren't that good. I did ask Joanna and she said there was a book called 'Self care for woman'-by Queenie Goldstein, which had spells for this and other woman issues, which were highly effective. I have been trying to find that book for a while. See if you can find it.", Nix said. Remus and James started to look for that book, when Remus heard Sirius ask Nix about other womanly issues.

"Pimples, hair removal, loss of weight and some other stuff.", Nix absentmindedly said, as she searched for the book. The boys looked perplexed at the need for spells for such things but shrugged it off. James found the book and picked few other by the same author, they all seem to be focused on woman, about woman and men psychology and behavior. 

Nix flipped through pages and found the spell for cramp relief and stomach pain relief. Sirius performed the spells on her and the effect was instantaneous. Nix visibly relaxed, her shoulders which were stooped, straightened up. She looked lighter and happier. She happily went to tell other girls about the spells. Sirius picked the book up intrigued. 

In the dorm, all the three boys were busy reading books after books about woman care and thinking. There were books on how to better understand psychology of female. On several ways for birth control and body care. They were all intrigued by the number of things that they found to be trivial, to be given so much importance in these books. Like there was a whole section on ways to reduce or permanently remove your hair from various body parts. Then there was section on eyebrows. Their shape, thickness and how each shape could mean something else.

There were books and books on colors that went with other colors, which dress went with what, shoes and makeup. So many spells for makeup and hairstyle. There were books on making love to men and how to maximize your own pleasure from a man and yourself. They all read that those parts religiously. It was surprising that not everything had to do with wand work, like they assumed.

Some books gave advice on how to flirt, look a certain way to impress boys and behave in different social gatherings. The three boys found the book 'Understanding the witch mind' very intriguing. It explained so many things that they had found baffling before. Remus saw Sirius and James jot down few spells for body pain, birth control and cramps. The three of them went to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Can I help you three?", Professor McGonagall asked them curiously.

"These are lists of spells which can help a girl or woman who are in pain because of their periods. There are few birth control spells in here as well.", Remus explained.

"They were effective on my sister, the period spells.", James added with a nod.

"You could tell them about these. It would help them. There is no need for unnecessary pain when the cure is right here.", Sirius showed Professor the spells and their strengths. 

"Also we think you should tell guys about this too. We all have sisters, mothers, and will probably end up having girlfriends or wives. It would be good to know spells to help your other half. Also the birth control spells would avoid any unnecessary risks or drama. Prevention is better than cure.", James said.

Professor McGonagall had surprisingly misty eyes and awarded them 10 points each for their compassion and consideration. She called a meeting of girls and Dumbledore called a meeting of boys. There they both explained about the spells, various other spells they knew about and gave general sex education to the school. It was awkward but most felt it was good to know about these things about the other gender. Nix gave them a bear hug after that class. Even Lily and Marlene gave them all a hug with a beaming smile. The boys got very popular with girls after that, much to amusement of Nix and annoyance of Lily. 

Sirius flat out yelled at Rosier, who asked him out (they were in Great Hall having breakfast)," Rosier, I am pretty sure you were there when I took Buttercup as my official date. I am OFF THE MARKET, SO STOP BUGGING ME!"

Saying this he started to eat food off Nix's plate, who looked at him in fond amusement. Sirius winked at her and kissed her on her jawline. Nix inhaled sharply and looked in warning at Sirius, who was looking very mischievous all of a sudden. James broke the moment by coming in, dazed, and settling down beside them with a blank stare.

"Prongs? Hey bro, you okay?", Nix asked worriedly, as she waved her hand over James's dazed face. Remus saw lipstick marks on his lips and stifled a laugh. He looked at Sirius and pointed it out to him. Sirius looked at James face and barked a laugh. At Nix questioning look, he pointed out the evidence to her. Nix grinned gleefully.

"So who was the lucky girl or guy?", Nix asked James excitedly. Lily frowned whether at the lipstick marks on James or his dazed state, he wasn't sure.

"Ava Stone", James replied still dazed. Ava Stone was a third year Hufflepuff, who was a very pretty girl and an excellent chaser. 

"Oooo....Well done mate! She is hot!", Remus said excitedly. James seem to have recovered from his daze. He happily received Nix's excited hug. Although, James's mood always lifted with her warm hugs. Sirius was appraising Ava and she seem to have got his approval.

"Mate, go invite her to spend the Hogsmede trip with you. Not the whole day but for some time. Go on!", Sirius pushed James towards her. James looked at Nix, who nodded encouragingly. Lily was frowning, Remus smiled seeing that.

James asked Ava out, who agreed excitedly, for lunch. Remus got asked out by Violet from Ravenclaw for lunch. So it was decided that next Hogsmede trip, lunch would be three separate dates. Except last Hogsmede trip has just gone by and next was not till after Christmas break. It should be intriguing to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *credits to original tumblr writers  
> A chroí - my heart (pronounced: uh KHREE)  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	32. Fervour

"Its so beautiful and peaceful here!", Nix said excitedly as she took in the landscape around them.

Sirius hummed as he moved to stand behind Nix. He gently moved Nix's braided hair to the one side. Pulling her closer to his chest by one arm, he kissed her gooey point behind the ear. Nix inhaled sharply. Sirius continued kissing her neck and gave special  attention to the spots he knew affected her too much, while his other arm was tracing her hands softly. 

"How...how did you come,  _ah,_  across this place? I never saw.. _oh..._ it during our Moony .. _Oh Merlin_ _..._ adventures.", Nix stuttered out.

Sirius was thrilled that he had such an effect on her. He was chuffed that she never muffled her pleasure when they were alone. Those particular sounds of hers were his aphrodisiac and were slowly becoming his addiction.  

Sirius muttered softly,"A few nights back, I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake Prongs or Moony. So I decided to go for a run as Padfoot. After running in forbidden forest for a while, I came across this place. It soothed and calmed me down a lot. I wanted to share this place with you. I thought that, maybe, this could be our place. You know, a place only the two of us know about. Also, no one would bugger in here." He trailed his nose along her neck.

Nix chuckled as she took in the beauty of nature that was surrounding them. The place was very deep inside the forbidden forest. It had a lush green meadow with a small water fall which formed a pond in center of the meadow with clear blue water. The place was surrounded by thick, tall woods. There were several blooming flowers covering the land, magical and normal ones. The sound of waterfall with the aroma of the flowers and grass, made this place such a beatific place. Despite the snow all around, this place was warm and snow-free.

He breathed in the amazing fragrance of the place and the summery scent of Nix.  _Damn she smelled so nice!_ He bit her lightly on her neck. She pressed back and sighed happily, as she tilted her head to a side, giving him more access. He grinned and took advantage of the additional access and the uninterrupted time, they were having.     

Everyone (James) they knew had made it a game of not leaving the two of them alone for long. This has 'Siriusly' affected their one on one time. Apart from the splendid make out session on his dorm bed few weeks ago, they have been unable to, even, snog properly. Someone (James) would always interrupt them. He was waiting for James to go out with Lily, then he would like to see how funny James found this game when it was played on him. Dolt.  

Sirius lightly bit on her collarbone and Nix moaned. Sirius turned Nix around and kissed her. Their head angle was a bit off. Sirius moved his head a bit which gave him a better access to her soft eager lips.

"Did you grow a few inches?", Nix mummer-ed between there kisses. "Yeah. Does that upset you?", Sirius asked with a smile as he squeezed one of her butt cheeks. "No.", Nix groaned and then she traced his lips with her tongue. Sirius was all too happy to grant her access. 

A sudden frenzy caught up to them. They kissed passionately and dueled their tongues in battle of dominance. He sucked her bottom lip between his lip and bit on it lightly. She made a noise that had all his blood rushing south. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeper and harder. After snogging like their life depended on it, they parted and grinned at each other.

Nix kissed him again. This time it was slow, sweet and unhurried. Her hands were scratching his head, making him groan and wish he could merge their bodies together. He sighed in content when that kiss ended and grinned at her.  

Sirius gave her a peck and went to gather few flowers from the surrounding, while Nix went to sit next to the lake. He began to decorate her braid with flowers. Nix started to hum some song. Sirius had learned how to braid hair on Lily's hair. It took him a while to learn how to do it properly with Lily, James and Remus as his guide. Sirius would copy James, who braided and designed Nix hair everyday in the common room, and try different styles on Lily's hair.

Jamie and Nix, since beginning of Hogwarts, had a routine, where Jamie brushed, braided and designed Nix's hair everyday in the common room, while they chatted about everything and nothing. Jamie told him that after Nix woke up from her coma, she really didn't say a lot for a while. The only way James could feel close to her was by brushing and braiding her hair. James said that Nix smiled for first time since coma, after he made a decent braid on her hair. Since he found it calming and an excellent sibling bonding activity, he had continued to do so.

James had brushed off scathing comment of O'Riley "Are you a girl, that you know how to braid?" by smiling brightly and saying,"You should try it with your siblings too. It is very soothing and is a great bonding activity." Nix nodded in agreement beside him. Since these comments had no effect on the Potters, people stopped taunting them. It was treated as a morning routine of the twins. Some of the siblings had, even, started to do the same every morning. 

Remus would braid Nix's hair on days he felt restless or a bit lonely or needed to do  something to keep his mind occupied. No one questioned how Remus learned to braid hair in such delicate patterns. It was Moony, he knew everything and could do everything. It was a simple fact of life. Except playing quidditch. He was shit at that. Nix would happily sit down and let them comb her hair into any design they liked. She didn't care how she looked because  someone she loved has put in the time and effort to set her hair. He loved her more for it. Even with the weirdest hairdos, she looked beautiful. She would look beautiful in a potato sack.

Sirius wanted to be a part of this routine too, so he asked for Lily's help. Apart from braiding her hair, Sirius and Lily found that they had a lot in common, especially unpleasant family members. They talked about a lot of things. Their family members, their house life, their aspirations, their hopes and their glorious hair. The last topic irked James a lot, while it amused the rest. They started to discuss ways to keep hair shining, glowing and overall wonderful, especially in front of Jamie. To annoy him more they wondered if they should open a 'Hogwarts group of people with glorious hair' club, where only people with amazing hair were allowed. James would mutter and curse very quietly, that only Marauders could hear. 

Sirius had actually styled Nix's hairstyle today. After their intense quidditch practice, he brushed and braided her hair after she came back from the shower, smelling wonderfully of lavender. She looked lovely in her PJs and a low U-shaped top that showed her curvy figure wonderfully. 

Since Remus and James were stuck in detention with Minnie, for charming all tables to dance in middle of the class. (They had lost a bet against Sirius about Ravenclaw Vs Hufflepuff match. The prank was hilarious. Even though Minnie looked impressed by their ability to cast such a strong spell easily, but since they had disrupted her class, they were punished with detention for a week.) Sirius asked her out on an impromptu exploration in the forbidden forest. It has been too long since they had been alone together.

After decorating her hair, Sirius sat behind her with his legs parallel to hers. She leaned back on him and hummed happily. He could relate to it, his soul was relaxing after being restless for past few long weeks. 

"Why were you restless? And why run in animagus form?", Nix asked. He could detect concern in her voice. He sighed and rested his head on her shoulder. 

"Nightmare. You and Prongs were dying in front of me and I couldn't save you. I have been having this dream for a while now. That day I couldn't go back to sleep, so I ran as Padfoot to release tension and restlessness. When you are in animagus form, emotions are less complex and easier to deal with.", Sirius confessed to her. He kissed her exposed shoulder.

His nightmare revolved around either Nix's or Prongs's bloody mangled dead body in his arms. He was always millisecond late to save them. He could hear Bella's manic laugh in the background as he sobbed and begged them to come back. To not leave him alone in the world. To not rip his heart out like that.

Her fall in the quidditch match didn't help either. His heart had stopped beating seeing her so pale and still. James dread was not helping him either. It was only when Dumbledore checked her over and said that she was only unconscious and would make full recovery, could he breath again.

James silence had unnerved Remus and him. Sirius wondered how bad it must have been for James back when he was just 5. To sit by Nix's bedside for a month, day after day, not knowing if she would ever wake up. This after watching his sister get hurt and bleed all over the place. Sirius shuddered. He understood why James was so protective of Nix and his reasons for so many nightmares. Sirius didn't know how he would have coped up in that situation. He would have lost his mind and murdered everyone in sight.  

"I am right here, Sirius. I know the quidditch match scared you three, but I am okay. And, I am not leaving you. I won't. Why didn't you ask Prongs or me to bunk with you? It helps us when we have a nnightmare.When you wake up and see the person you saw die or hurt or whatever in your dream sleeping peacefully next to you, it helps you calm down a lot. Next time, just ask us and we will bunk with you. Just like I am bunking with him right now. Okay?", Nix said it with love and concern.

Sirius nodded and breathed her in. He felt relaxed after a very long time. They sat like that, taking comfort and assurance from each other, for a long time.  

Nix said after a while,"You know, what I want to do?". 

"What?", Sirius asked her curiously. He could detect excitement in her voice.

"I want to jump in that amazing water and have a splash war.", Nix said with challenge in her eyes. Sirius felt excitement grow in him at her challenging look and nodded with a smile and peck on her lips. 

Nix got up and dived into the water. She groaned at the surprisingly warm water in the lake. Sirius jumped in after her. Shriek and laughter filled the meadow as they both splashed each other with vigor. 

"I knew I would win. Ha!", Nix said with a huge smile as she splashed him again. 

Sirius smiled wickedly and said, "Oh, really?" And then he lunged for her and she swam away, only to be caught by Sirius around her waist. He spun her around and Nix shrieked in delight. He kissed her cheeks. They were laughing, standing in the middle of a not too deep pond. 

He became very aware of the fact that their dripping bodies were plastered against one another. He was breathing right next to her ears. Nix breathing and pulse rate were increasing rapidly. She turned her head to look at him and he was captivated by her loose hairs that fell out of her braid, her lush smiling lips, her smooth skin. He followed the path of a water droplet that dripped down slowly from her hair to her cheek to her neck till it disappeared between her scintillating bosom. He lifted his eyes up to meet hers and his heart started to hammer at the want and love in her stormy blue eyes.

She turned around and using his shoulder as leverage, jumped and wrapped her shapely legs around his waist, water splashed around them in small waves. He placed his hands on her hips and gave her a push that placed her face above his head. Her loose hair tickled his cheeks. He grinned. She bit her lips and bend down to kiss him on his lips. Her one hand was in his hair and other was continuously moving all over his body that was within her reach. The water was moving around them in small waves, adding another sensation.

All he could focus on was, her. Her soft lips that were moving on his with a burning need. Her talented mouth that made him weak in the knees by a simple flick of her tongue while her hands were caressing his jaw and scratching his head, all at the same time. Her breasts that were pressed against his chest. Small movements of her hips. The hum that vibrated through his mouth as he gently squeezed her butt cheek. He groaned when she broke the kiss and started to kiss and bite down his neck.  

Somehow they were on dry land again. He gently lowered her down on the ground. Her heaving bosom, her swollen lips, her dark beckoning stormy blue eyes and her general wet state, was forever implanted in his mind. He captured her lips in a passionate kiss. When she lightly grazed his ribs and hip bone, he involuntarily jerked against her and pressed harder into her. He broke away from the kiss to start sucking at her weak points. She was withering underneath him and he was caught in a haze.

He followed the trail from her neck to her breast, biting and sucking her, everywhere he could. Nix was too breathless but she was trying to say something. But all that came out were those exotic noise. He figured he should stop to listen what she was trying to say, but then she moaned really, really sensually which made him forget all about what she was trying to say. As he reached the start of one of her breasts, a zapping hex hit him. He groaned in pain and fell next to her.

"Merlin!", Sirius said winded. He was miffed at himself for getting carried away that she had to use a freaking hex to get him off. Nix was worriedly checking him over for damage. There was none.

Nix cleared her throat and said," It wasn't me that zapped you. Dad placed an advanced charm on me. He was concerned, after that afternoon in my bedroom, that we might, ahem, get carried away in our....errr...want for each other. So he placed a charm on me which would zap you every time, you crossed a limit he deemed inappropriate at our age."

Nix smiled sheepishly and sweetly kissed his cheek. He saw that she looked a bit apprehensive about his reaction to the news. Sirius started to laugh because this was so like PaPo. He gave freedom to his children but they had to earn the right for the important stuff. Well, he will earn the right to be with his precious daughter. He kissed her hand and sighed. 

"Its good, actually. We really got carried away right now. So its good to know that I won't be murdered or tortured by the Potter men because I did something inappropriate to the baby of the Potter house (Nix playfully punched him on shoulder). And Nix, tell me if I am going too fast for you. I won't mind. Okay?", Sirius said smiling to a beaming Nix. Nix nodded and laid down next to him.

"I tried to get the charm off, you know. I couldn't. Dad was so proud of himself that day. Prongs refused to help saying that it was good as he won't have to worry about us getting carried away, anymore. Was the zap hex strong?", Nix asked him as she traced random pattern on his chest.

"Na, it was mild but strong enough to bring us back to the reality, when we do get carried away. This place has suddenly turned into my favorite place.", Sirius said cheerfully as he traced Nix spine and kissed her on her forehead.

Nix chuckled and saying,"I wonder, why?", she kissed him. Just as the kiss was getting passionate again, Prongs voice rang out in the meadow. Sirius cursed and looked around but saw no James or a stag. 

"Padfoot, mate!", James worried voice came from his pocket. Sirius pulled out his mirror and got concerned at the worry on James, Lily and Remus's faces. "What is it, mate? Is everything alright?", Sirius asked him equally worried.

"Padfoot, please tell me Buttercup is with you. I can't find her anywhere and Lily says she isn't in her bed. No one has seen her since dinner. And, She left her mirror in my bag. I feel that she is fine but I can't find her anywhere!", James frantically asked.

"She right here with me, Prongs. Here look.", Sirius gently reassured the frantic brother. A dried Nix waved at James with a reassuring smile. James face broke into a relieved smile as did Lily and Remus's.   

"Merlin, you two! You could have told someone, where you were going? Where are you two? And, why are you wet, Sirius? You would catch cold!", Remus asked exasperated. 

Nix answered," We are at the spot near the lake. I pushed Sirius into the lake. That's why he is wet. Come on here, you three. We haven't been here for so long. Bring some food and hot chocolate, while you are at it." James got excited; Remus looked resigned; and Lily looked alarmed. 

"That would be breaking the rules! We are not supposed to be out of the Gryffindor dorms after 7 pm. And what do you mean by 'it has been long since you have done this'?", Lily asked James, who smiled brightly.

"It will be fine, Lily. Come on, don't you want to see what the school is like after dark? If we get caught, we will say we kidnapped you on a dare or something. Relax! We will meet you there in 20 minutes!", James directed the last part to the mirror Sirius and Nix, who nodded and cancelled the connection. 

Sirius sighed.  _Looks like their alone time is over._ "Why would you push me, your amazing boyfriend, into the lake,  _A chroí_?", Sirius asked her teasingly as they got up to stand. 

Nix huffed and playfully said,"Because you annoyed me with your glorious hair." 

Sirius said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Yeah?" and started to tickle her mercilessly. Her laugh filled the meadow and his heart. He stopped after she yielded. They kissed deeply for what would probably be a long time because her brother was an interrupting bugger. Nix turned into Buttercup and they flew off to the spot by lake they were supposed to be in the first place, according to others anyways. 

* * *

Remus saw Sirius snogging Nix against the lake tree. They looked like some ancient erotic cave painting, only with erotic sound and animation effect. Snogging was an understatement, Sirius was devouring Nix. There was no space between their bodies. Sirius had one hand on her back, underneath her shirt, which held Nix close to him. Another hand was buried in her hair. Nix hands were on his hip and lower back. Remus saw Nix squeeze Sirius hips. 

They heard Sirius growl like groan as he pressed more firmly against Nix. Nix was making noises that Remus never ever wanted to hear out of his sister in all but blood.  _Merlin! Sirius was going to eat her alive! That was not the mental image he needed. Bleh!_  

Remus turned to see pale James look like he needed an Oblivion charm and puke simultaneously. He could relate. Lily's mouth was popped open and her eyes were wide.  _Right, this was the first time she was witnessing their PDA._  James seems to have had enough because next moment, a huge wave splashed the lovers, drenching them in cold water. 

Sirius looked around with his wand out while Nix looked at James, amused. They were both heaving and looked ravished. Sirius saw James and lowered his wand with a sheepish look. Remus knew he was apologizing to James for having witnessed that. His nose usually gave him a fair warning of approaching people to give them enough time to be decent again. They both must have been very busy to be caught off guard like that. Sirius performed drying spells on both of them and the area. They had already charmed area to be warm. They all removed their jackets.

James grumbling about 'oblivion charm would only help so much', sat down at the spot next to Nix. Remus and Lily followed, amused, sitting next to Sirius. Lily was a bit pink and her eyes were still wide. Not everyone could get used to their randiness. Plus, their appearance right now, would fluster anyone.

Sirius looked so disheveled. His hair, normally, would fall down into an elegant manner around his face, no matter what. Right now, it resembled more of a messy hairdo. His lips were swollen and there were red marks all over his neck. His eyes were shining in happiness and he had a loopy smile. It made him look more handsome. Honestly, this guy was maturing like wine. 

Nix, on the other hand, looked like had just rolled out of bed after a vigorous make-out session or some other err...stuff. Her braid has loosened up and there  were strands of her hair, falling gracefully around her face. Her neck and shoulder were all covered in...hickeys. Her lips were swollen as well and her blue eyes reminded Remus of happy days spent playing in the sea. She was glowing. Nix was turning up to be a stunning woman. James should be thankful that Sirius has already taken Nix off dating market, or there would be frenzy to date her and he didn't think James would have handled that well. 

These two were turning out to be such stunners with so many brilliant qualities, that they would have caused a riot among their respective opposite sex. James would have lost his shit trying to keep all the horny boys away from his little sister. Sirius would have lost his head in jealousy; and Remus's whole time would have been spent in cleaning up the messes caused by these two heirs. Nix would have been jealous of all the girl attention Sirius would have gotten, but would have controlled it better.

Had their relationship not being destined in such an obvious manner, he was sure Sirius would have tortured every guy in the school, who would have dared to like Nix that way; till he would have gathered the courage to ask her out himself. Because these two, bond or no bond, would have ended up together in the end. Of that, he had no doubt. What route they took was the only question.  

 _Their children would be highly intelligent and gorgeous. It was almost unfair to the rest of the world._  Their soulmate bond was strong. Sirius asked the boys in their year about how frequently we checked out girls and err...thought about stuffwith them. He looked surprised by their answer. When later in their dorm James asked him about it, Sirius explained with a satisfied smile,

"I don't notice anyone like that, except for Prongs's little sister. So that means that our bond is very strong, and it also means that Buttercup has no interest in other guys as well, apart from yours truly. ( _James was both delighted and irritated by it._ ) This means I don't have to kill Austin for flirting with her, yesterday. Although his robes would cause itching in several unfortunate places." James grinned and nodded in appreciation.

At least this was mild compared to what they usually do to the poor guys who flirt or ask Nix out. It was surprising how many guys and girls still asked these two out, despite it being known that these two were officially dating, not simple dating. Every guy who would attempt such feat would next day for sure have some form of unfortunate experience, depending on how much that guy has pissed Sirius and James. Nix would roll her eyes at Sirius's fan girls. Remus knew she was jealous, as was evident with slight display of possessiveness in her behavior (which made Sirius very happy), but she refused to create a scene in public.

"He is hot, Moony! Like oh-my-Merlin-is-this-guy-real-or-am-I-dreaming hot! And he would only get hotter and sexier as he ages. It would only be uphill from here. Girls would fawn over him. There is nothing I can do about it. I trust him too much to let other girls corniness let me ruin our relation over it. Phoenix in me is very sure of him, whereas grim is aggressive. So his reactions aren't that surprising. Plus Prongs would kill him if he ever does anything to hurt me." , Nix explained calmly.

That was true, James would not hesitate to torture his best mate, if he hurt Nix. James was very protective of Nix. Speaking of protectiveness, Remus watched as James was analyzing Nix's hickey covered neck and shoulder, perturbed.  

"Why, in Merlin's sodding name, is my baby sister's neck looking like it has been attacked by bees or bitten raw?", James asked peeved, to a rapidly reddening Sirius. James seems to disregard the fact that Sirius neck was also covered in hickeys too. Nix rolled her eyes at James, who was busy glaring at his best mate.

Sirius smirked at James and said," Mate, do you really want an answer to that?". Nix coughed. James paled and shook his head vigorously. Sirius barked out a laugh, as did Lily and Remus. 

James handed them two vials which 'healed' their raw neck quickly. "Keep one with you and use the other. I really, really don't need mental or actual image of my sister and best mate going at it, alright?", James grumbled. Remus nodded furiously in agreement. Lily looked entertained. Nix huffed but they both agreed.

They all started to eat the goodies that James had picked up from the kitchen. Remus watched in horrified fascination as Sirius gobbled down cake after cake without a pause. Girls were watching them with a grin, while James was watching the quarter moon in deep thought.  

"Padfoot, slow down. The food won't disappear! How many sweets can you eat in one go? No, stupid question, don't answer that. But, you need to start eating more healthy food. When was last time you ate a carrot?", Remus asked Sirius, like a Professor asking student to confess their wrong doing. 

Sirius said dryly," Well, its my least favorite type of cake...so rarely." Remus stared at him, while the twins and Lily were stifling a laugh.

"If I absolutely have to I would eat the cream off the top.*", Sirius said dryly with a shrug. Remus looked up in 'why do I even bother?' way. The rest of them started to laugh.    

"Cheer up, Moony. All the quidditch practice takes a lot of energy out of you. Apple Pie?", Sirius asked with him a smile. Remus shook his head fondly and took the pie. "Oh! I forgot, Andy gave birth to a girl."

Nix whooped; Remus and Lily smiled; and James was smiling happily but then guffawed.

"Mate! You are an uncle, now! You are oldddd..", James teased Sirius. 

"Since I am old now.", Sirius said teasingly as he bend down and kissed Nix on her lips. Nix hummed around his lips and they both smiled in their kiss.

"No, she is my little sister. Get off her.", James said irritably, as he lifted Nix up and settled her on other side of him, away from Sirius. Nix winked at Sirius and James playfully glared at both of them. Sirius barked a laugh as he ruffled James hair. Everyone started to laugh. 

Lily looked surprised that James could lift Nix up like that without an issue. Remus wondered what she would say if she found out that there were days back at home, when James literally carried Nix out of bed because she refused to get up; saying that she was the baby of the house and a baby deserved to be carried around. Remus has seen James give Nix a piggy back ride  so often that for the Marauders it was normal.

Hell, they all could carry weight double their weight without breaking a sweat. Except when it came to carry the course books around the castle. Where those books were concerned, the twins and Sirius became fragile as a bubble. Although, now that he thought about it, their animal strength must make them all more stronger than normal teenagers. Was there something else different about them from normal teenagers because of their animal side, apart from the glaring specific characteristics? 

"What is the baby's name?", Nix asked excitedly

"Nymphadora Andromeda Tonks. My half blood niece is a Metamorphmagus.", Sirius said with a glee. 

James laughed and said excitedly,"Damn! I wish I was there to see your fanatic pureblood relatives reaction to that! But that is brilliant! I have never seen one in real life! Its fantastic!"

Seeing Lily's confusion, Remus explained," These witches or wizards can change their appearance at will, without the need of any potion or spell. Its inbuilt. A metamorphmagi can take a wide variety of forms, changing sex and age, potentially looking like anyone at all, or even just changing a part of their appearance, such as the color of their hair or shape of their noses. They can also have animal  parts."

"They are extremely rare. The last one, I think, was half century ago. They are considered to be one of the most magically gifted witches and wizards.", James added

"Now you can imagine the horror my crazy arse relatives went through, when they found out that their pureblood daughter has produced a metamorphmagus with a  _muggle born!_ They all went frantic and had life existential melt downs, according to Uncle Alph.", Sirius said gleefully. James and he did a fist bump. Lily smiled. Nix had a far off look. 

"Hey, Sirius? I wanted to ask you something. Why does your dorm look like a Herbology hut?", Lily asked him amused. Nix grumbled. James and Remus laughed.

"Because, I have a green thumb. And the plant is in excellent condition, thank you very much.", Sirius said with a teasing smile directed at Nix.

"Oh please, it is not my fault that my bloody plant died in the wild. It is supposed to grow in wild! Naturally! Just because I sowed it, doesn't mean that was the bloody reason, it died. It died because it died. It has nothing to do with me. So shush..", Nix said annoyed.

Everyone was so amused at the fact that any plant that came under Nix's care died, irrespective of what she did. She was more annoyed because not only Remus and James were better at Herbology but Sirius seem to be a natural at it as well. She could do theory and practical aspect of the subject without batting an eye, but growing a plant was impossible for her. 

Remus had given Sirius a  _cappilium pulchritudo_  potted plant,which was famous for its hair beautification properties, as a gift. It was a joke because Sirius was very 'Sirius' about his hair and conditioning. Although, Remus suspected it was because Nix loved his hair. Sirius had taken such good care of the plant, (which was notorious for not growing for those it didn't like) that it has grown and covered all of the dorm*. To James's annoyance, it avoided James bed. Apparently, only those with naturally glorious hair can have the plant growing around them. Sirius has teased James mercilessly over it. James hugged his sister in solitary. The rest grinned at the two, who stuck their tongue out at them. 

"And why in the world, do you have animals following you around the castle grounds, Remus?", Lily asked him intrigued. 

The others chocked back their laugh as Remus racked his brain for a plausible explanation. How was he supposed to tell her that his three best mates were prats and Professor McGonagall had caught them sneaking back in the castle as animagii? 

That night, he and James were woken by a howl of a dog, they knew it was Padfoot. After spending all those nights together,  _That sounded wrong,_  they knew each others sounds intimately.  _Not that way._  The two of them looked out of the window and saw Buttercup flying above Padfoot. They both raced out under the invisibility clock. When they reached there, it turned out both, Nix and Padfoot, had nightmares and were running or flying to get rid of their anxious energy. The four of them sat near the lake till late and then walked back in the castle, tired and exhausted. Only to run into Professor McGonagall, who glared at him and then looked incredulous for some reason. 

At first Remus didn't understand why Professor looked so incredulous, it wasn't the first time they were caught and won't be last either. He turned around to ask James about Professor's strange behavior, and somehow managed to control his yelp. There standing innocently were a majestic stag, a humongous black dog and a glorious Phoenix. Their eyes betrayed their mirth at the situation. Bloody prats, all of them.

He turned to look sheepishly at Professor, while his brain was raking for any believable answer, while simultaneously cursing these three infuriating idiots to hell. 

"Mr Lupin, is there a reason why you are in company of these three...animals inside the castle?", Professor McGonagall asked curiously.

Padfoot bounced forward with his tongue rolled out and sat in front of Professor, employing his puppy eyes in full force. Prongs strutted forward and sat next to Padfoot, looking at the Professor majestically yet innocently. Professor looked like she was fighting the urge to pet them. Remus was glad she didn't, Sirius would never let them forget about this. Buttercup settled on Remus's shoulder. Remus started speaking, while gently stroking Buttercup's soft feathers.

"I met them in the forest, Professor. They somehow knew  _what_  I was and seemed to like me. I don't know why they do, but they do. So, when I get restless because of ...discomfort, I go and meet them in the forest. They calm me down. I am sorry for breaking rules, but the restlessness makes it impossible for me to sleep. And I didn't want to bother James and Sirius with it."

Professor McGonagall's angry expression turned into one of understanding and sympathy. He hated lying to her but with this explanation, if these three dunderheads were seen on the ground later someday, the animagii suspicion would be avoided at least. Buttercup chirped and gave his hand a gentle peck. 

"I understand, Mr Lupin. I thought the Marauders knew about your condition. Isn't that why they started the werewolf campaign? Isn't Nix working on the potion to help your illness? Has there been a problem between you four?", Professor McGonagall asked concerned.

"They know, Professor. Honestly, I never thought they would accept me as a human being, let alone a friend. They have done everything they can do make me feel better. They are still trying to do everything they can to make me feel better, but the restlessness doesn't leave me. I didn't want to disturb their peace and sleep. They become cranky in the morning, otherwise. (Padfoot and Prongs looked at him amused) So I come here for a walk or just spend time with these three, every now and then. It helps me.", He said it earnestly. Professor McGonagall melted.

"Very well, Mr Lupin. Lets escort these animals back to the forest. In future, try to keep the meeting to outside of the castle only. I would sign you a permission slip to allow you to stay out at nights. But don't misuse it and don't tell your three marauding friends about it. Not that they require a slip to wander the castle.", Professor McGonagall warned him with a smile. 

Remus nodded delighted. This was not the outcome he expected. But at least he won't be in detention. They escorted the  _wild_ animals back to the forest, where they disappeared into the forest. Professor escorted him back to the Gryffindor tower. He was surprised when she decided to tag along with him to his dorm. She looked satisfied when she saw the James and Sirius sleeping; bid him good night and left. That was a surreal night. But that was not the explanation he could give Lily. He looked at Nix with panic in his eyes.  

"Animals love him, Lily. Several of our detentions end up with Hagrid in forest. While helping several animals, he has made quite few friends there. So they follow him around sometimes, even inside the castle.", Nix said with mirth dancing in her eyes. Lily shook her head, amused. 

"We suspect it is the warm cardigans he wears. It gives him a furry look, you know.", Sirius added with a wink.

"I am sure the animal like him less than Violet does.", James teased him.

Remus decided to return the favor,"Well, not as much as you like Ava, or was it someone else you were sneaking out to meet, last night?". Nix nudged her brother with a grin, who was spotting red tint on his cheeks; Lily, however, looked unhappy by that. Remus caught Sirius eyes and both of them grinned.

"Is that why, you are carrying healing vials?", Sirius asked James with wagging eyebrows. Nix snorted and Lily looked irritated by that comment.

James said defensively and with a bit of stammering,"What? No! I was...I wasn't carrying vials because of that! I was carrying vials because we are all prone to accidents and may need one. I was being prepared.."

"For inevitable hickeys?", Sirius butted in with a smirk. 

"Or..swollen lips?", Remus added conspiratorially.

"Maybe bees would eat your neck raw..its not painful at all. Well at least, not the pain, you are thinking.", Nix added casually. Sirius was staring at Nix with such intensity that Remus was sure if James wasn't here, Sirius would have pounced on her. Lily looked flustured; Remus was sure he was flushing.  _That look....Merlin! No wonder, girls moan about Sirius's relationship status. That look alone would have caused all the girls to sign up for any alone moment with him. It is lucky that James is looking at Nix or Sirius would be hexed by now._ James had a mixture of revolt and intrigue look on his face, as he was looking at Nix. James visibly shook his head.

"Buttercup, I love that you are in a loving and...passionate relationship, but please understand this, as your elder brother, I am requesting you, don't say things like that. If he hurts you, tell me. I will break every bone in his body, but I really don't want to imagine you two in any kind of sexual positions. And before you say, that wasn't your purpose, I am a guy. My mind automatically goes there, even if its my sister. I don't want to puke or be nauseated around you two, all the time, okay?", James pleaded with Nix.

Remus seconded that request. Sirius was grinning widely. Nix and Lily looked at each other incredulously. Nix nodded but there was mirth in her eyes. Sirius winked and blew her a flying kiss. James sighed and looked up as if asking for strength.

"Okaaayyy...Moving on from  _that_ topic. Where are you two planning on going for your dates? I mean, the weekend is right after we come back from Christmas break. There is not a lot of time.", Nix asked James and Remus.

"I haven't really thought about it. Madam Puddifoot's tea shop?", James asked Nix.

Nix looked thoughtful and nodded,"Yeah, they are both on the girly side, so I am guessing they would be fine with it. Just book a table before hand, send Madam Puddifoot a letter. It would be crowded during lunch." James and Remus nodded. Lily looked vexed by now.

"Buttercup, do you want me to book one for us as well?", Sirius asked Nix, softly. James was studiously looking at the cloud covered moon. Remus chuckled.

"Ugh...no! Its too pink and frilly and...just not my thing. Can't we just go to Three broomstick?", Nix asked Sirius, who grinned in relief. That place was awfully pink, now that he thought about it. Oh well.

"Then, why are you sending us to the place you hate? What are you two planning to do in the meantime, huh?", Remus asked Nix, with a teasing smile.

"A lot of things, but I don't think we want to see Prongs puke.", Sirius replied smugly.

"Thank you for that, ugh..Never mind, no evidence of your 'plans' on my little sister, Padfoot. Use the freaking vials. I will get you guys more. But, why suggest Madam Puddifoot's then, Nix?", James asked a highly entertained Nix.

"Violet and Ava are girl, girl. The girls were all gushing about how cute and romantic it was. But to be fair, I don't know either of them a lot, so ask them where they want to go and book tables in both place. Wherever they agree, go there. Before you ask why to go to so much trouble. You do it to make your lady happy. Especially, when the reward is a snog, Moony.", Nix explained teasingly. Remus blushed. They all laughed and talked till the sun rose and then sneaked back inside the castle. It was a fun night.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *credit to original tumblr writer  
> A chroí - my heart (pronounced: UH Khree)  
> Basilisk will make an appearance next..  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	33. Atrocious

"Si!", came the high shrieking voice of gloomy Glommy Rosier. Sirius groaned.  _Merlin! Why?_ Reg chuckled next to him. Sirius glared at him. 

"Rosier.", Saying that Sirius turned to see the Christmas Dinner party, his family was hosting. Cissy and Lucius-ous haired one were being declared engaged today. It was supposed to be an informal family friends gathering thing in the garden. But with these socially awkward and stuck up Slytherins 'slythering' everywhere, informality seems to be on a vacation as seems to be color. 

Cissy, surprisingly, didn't want any themed or specific engagement party. People were allowed to wear anything and everything as long as it was proper for dinner gathering. Nix was very excited, she apparently had a pretty dress that she has been wanting to wear for a while now. The lack of theme meant that party would be filled with colorfully dressed people. 

This was not the case. The whole bloody place was draped in green and black as were the people shunting around. You can take a Slytherin out of Hogwarts but you can't take the Slytherin out of these dunderheads. It was almost depressing how many people had decided to wear black to a joyous occasion. He knew black clothes were borderline funeral apparel, as according to Queenie (the women book writer), colorful dresses in joyous occasion made the occasion more joyous and cheerful. Try telling this to these depressed Slytherin arseholes. Sirius sighed and thanked Merlin for the thousandth time, for letting him be a Gryffindor. 

Sirius yawned and stared longingly at the floo fireplace. The Potter and Tonks were yet to arrive. He really wanted to meet his niece. He also wanted a life without his lovely mother, whose insanity genes were activated at a moments notice. His lovely mother has been trying to set him up with some 'good' pureblood girls since he came back for holidays. This has been one of the most annoying vacation ever. His mother was pissed that Nix was again his official date, despite her efforts of setting him up with her approved proper pureblood girls.

Dad was highly amused by mother's rant of how she was sure something was wrong with Sirius because he never paid any attention to tons of girls or boys (yeah, she figured since girls didn't do it maybe boys would. That had been weird.) she threw his way. Sirius rolled his eyes and his mind flashed back to the meadow and Nix. Her lips, her beautiful eyes, her erotic sounds, her wet body wrapped around him, the feel of her bare soft skin, her laugh...Merlin her skilled mouth working on his neck. He zoned out his mother as he daydreamed about Nix. Dad coughed and he came back to the present, flushed. His dad coughed again to cover his amusement. Sirius, somehow, managed to keep himself stoic and cocked his eyebrow at his dearest mother. 

"You need to take a proper pureblood girl. Not this wretched liberal  _Potter!_ I am your mother and you will do as I say!", his dearest mother fumed.

"If you are asking mother then...(his mother looked smug).. absolutely not. Nix is my official date, end of discussion.", Sirius drawled. This conversation was getting repetitive. What is his mother's problem?

"If she has a problem getting a date this late, I am sure Uranus Flint would be more than happy to take her off your hand.", Mother said happily as if she has solved an annoying problem. Sirius saw red and dad looked alarmed at seeing this side of him. It had been a long time since he has been this mad. 

He stood up in anger and said with finality ringing in voice," He comes near her and I will murder him. Then I will happily torture you. Do you understand me? Try taking her away from me and I will make your life a living hell. I am hers! So, stop trying to set me up with someone else. She is it and you will respect her." 

Mother looked positively murderous and bellowed," You are  _my son. Mine!_ Not Potters! You don't belong to her!  _Black heir doesn't belong to anyone! World belongs to him!_  That girl doesn't even deserve a glance from you! She is not worthy of being the future Lady Black. I will make sure she gets married to some lesser lord, who would treat her like that pathetic girl deserves it. It would free you from her trap. She will be someone else's wife and property!"

His mother, the very next moment, was pressed against the wall by an invisible force. She was steadily turning blue as the invisible force chocked her slowly and almost lazily. Sirius warned his mother in an ominous voice,  

"Listen carefully mother to this, because next time, I won't be lenient. Stay away from her and our relationship. If you harm one hair of hers or do anything to jeopardize my relationship with her, I will end you. It would be my deep satisfying pleasure to do that. I am hers and she is mine! Try to change that and you won't survive my wrath. Stay. Away. From. Her. Do. You. Understand. Me?", Saying this his magic dropped his purple mother and he stormed out of the room. 

His mother had stayed clear of him since then and had stopped bringing 'proper' girls or boys to set him up, like a bloody pimp. His dad was torn between being concerned about the mother-son relationship and proud about his son's magical poweress. Sirius was still beyond pissed at his mother. 

 _Ridiculous of her to think he would take anyone else. Or that he would let someone else even_ think, _they have a chance of being with Nix in any romantic capacity. That won't happen ever, because that guy would disappear from the face of this world. He would torture that stupid git.._ Rosier interrupted his dark musing by being more annoying.

"Si, you look so handsome. Do you want to go for a walk in your  _private_  amazing garden? I haven't seen it yet. You could also show some of your amazing skills, err...quidditch skills. Or we could do something else?", Rosier said with a smile that made him want to get away from her as soon as possible.

Sirius stared at her in confusion. Rosier was acting weird..well weirder than usual. She was  blinking rapidly, as if something was stuck in her eye; her lips were jutted out; all the while standing way too close to him. He noticed she was wearing a rather exposing dress for an engagement announcement dinner. Sirius saw Reg eye her very visible cleavage and then flush when he realized he was caught. 

Sirius smirked at his brother and said to Rosier, "I am on guest receiving duty, but Reg here, would be happy to assist you in any way." Reg flushed and glared at his grinning elder brother. 

"But Si..", Whatever Rosier wanted to say was lost to him as PaPo and then MaPo, came out of floo. Sirius and Reg left Rosier behind to greet the Potters. MaPo smiled brightly at them and gave them a warm hug, in which they melted. MaPo and PaPo were wearing blue colored robes and dress, looking regal and cheerful at same time. 

"Look at you both! You have both grown since summer. You are both still too thin. Although I do know that you both eat like whales. How are you guys still so thin?", MaPo asked with a smile, as she ran her hand through their hair. They smiled at her mothering.

"Quidditch practice takes a lot of energy, MaPo.", Sirius said with a smile.

"Really? I thought you found snogging the life out of Nix more energy consuming than quidditch practice, brother.", Reg, the smirking prat, butted in.

Sirius got alarmed at PaPo's reddening face.  _Well, at least he has snogged his love of life, before being murdered by the father of the love of his life for the very thing._

"He is not going to kill you. Breath!", Came the sweet, amused voice of Nix from his side. The twins had arrived while his life was flashing before his eyes. Sirius smiled happily at Nix and hugged her. He couldn't help it. He hasn't seen her for days! It was hard, especially after that brilliant night in the meadow. He missed her!

She looked amazing in her short peach dress (the right one in the picture below) and open hair. The red lipstick on her full lips were tempting him to kiss her, irrespective of the audience. PaPo cleared his throat loudly and Sirius figured he shouldn't push PaPo much...at least right now. 

"Hi!", He said softly to her and bend down to kiss her cheek softly. She grinned brightly. She was like his own personal sun. He saw an amused James, wearing a peach robe, and went to hug his best mate.  

Sirius gulped, squared his shoulder and went to hug PaPo. The rest of the family watched on in amusement. PaPo stared at him and then sighed.

PaPo hugged him and then said rather strictly," Treat her right or I would end you, or zap you at least. And remember, this is an official date. No kissing or anything untoward. Talking about untoward, have you been zapped since this year began?"

The twins looked very amused. Sirius nodded quickly and wondering if he should answer in affirmative. Thankfully, dad came in and saved him from sputtering out an answer.

"My man! You guys are late! Come on, help me with the barbecue. I am awful at it. Euphemia and Nix you both look stunning.", Dad said happily as he winked at Sirius, who smiled in relief.

MaPo went to greet Lady Bones and Lady Longbottom, who was eyeing Nix critically and gave her a rare smile in approval. Nix breathed in relief. Sirius knew she was glad that she doesn't has to be on a look-out the whole time for Lady Longbottom's general berating. 

Nix looked around the place which was filled with sparkling lights and blueberry light orbs everywhere, with full moon shining on them. The party was held in the family garden. They had two gardens, one for everyone and one for yours truly and Nix. 

Nix smiled happily and said," Its so pretty! I really love these blueberry light orbs."

"Oh twinkle fairies!", James exclaimed seeing the small, giggling fairies, nicer sisters of pixies.

Andy and Ted appeared with his little niece. His niece was pudgy cute baby with brown hair and fair skin. He got close to her and she gave him a cheerful toothless smile that melted his heart. He grinned at her and she squealed in delight.

Andy gave Dora, as was her nickname, to Sirius. He held her carefully and looked at her. To his amazement her eyes changed to his eye color and her hair turned black. He stared at her and then started to laugh. She giggled along with him.

The twins and Reg came closer to her. James was looking in wonder at a baby, as if he was seeing a baby for the first time in his life. "Wow! A Baby! An actual baby!", James said in awe. He gently tickled her and grinned at her infectious laugh. 

"Merlin! James! What did you think Andy will give birth to, a house elf?", Reg asked James teasingly, as he kissed his niece on her cheek. Dora looked adorably at Reg with her thumb in her mouth. James stuck his tongue out at Reg and went to congratulate the new parents with Reg. Nix was watching Dora with tears in her eyes. 

"She plays a role in future too?", Sirius asked in concern. _She was child, she won't have to do or suffer much. Right?_ He held her protectively in his arms.

"She turns up to be an amazing, kind, funny, daring and powerful witch who is not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right. She is going to be amazing. I think I already love her.", Nix whispered softly as she lightly tickled the baby. Sirius looked at Nix and smiled. Dora seemed to be in love with his amazing soulmate as well, because her dark black hair became longer and her eyes changed into Nix's ocean colored ones. 

Nix pointed the baby, and asked, "May I?". Sirius nodded and gently gave the baby to Nix. 

"Hi Dora! How are you? You are so beautiful. You are going to be a strong, loving, independent woman who will kick some 'Sirius' arse. Aren't you?", Nix cooed in her baby adorable voice. She looked so lovely with the baby.

Dora giggled and laughed. Then yawned widely. Nix chuckled and rearranged the baby so that Dora's head was on her shoulder. Nix moved slowly side to side while singing to her softly in her melodious voice. Dora was soon asleep and Nix looked peaceful. Andy came to get the baby later when dad was announcing Cissy and Lucius-ous haired one's engagement. They would be married after the school is over. So there were over a couple of years still left.

Bella was surprisingly being very quite.  Not just here but at Hogwarts too. She had a haunted look on her face. Sirius supposed listening to a Lion roar loudly would not be something pleasant. At least it made this event pleasant.

The twins went to congratulate Cissy and Lucius-ous haired one. Cissy hugged Nix and they chatted for a while, as guys waited patiently for them to finish off their talks. James stomach grumbled really loudly. Nix grinned at that and said good bye to Cissy, hugging her last time. 

"Come on, lets get you guys some food.", Reg said as he lead them towards food stalls. Sirius and James were called away by their dads, leaving Nix with Reg. Sirius saw her waving excitedly at Kingsley, Frank and Alice. 

After meeting bunch of ridiculously boring Lords, Sirius and James sneaked back towards the children arena. They were happily eating and chatting, when Sirius noticed Ur-anus give Nix a very leery once over. James caught his eyes and nodded. 

James caused a distraction by loudly urging Frank and Kingsley to have a sing off to see who would disperse more people quickly. Sirius, meanwhile, hit Ur-anus with farting jinx that would increase in smell and loudness as the time went by. Ur-anus, with all his amazing self awareness, didn't even realize that he was hit, as he was busy creepily staring at Nix, who was oblivious.

Ur-anus arrogantly made his way towards Nix and asked her," My lady, you look absolutely ravishing today. I was wondering if I could have a dance with you?".

Nix looked so adorably confused at Ur-anus comment, that Sirius wanted to snog that look off her beautiful face. She looked down at her dress in confusion and Sirius bit back a groan.  _Did she not know how hot she looked? She had to realize that almost every guy with a pulse had their eyes glued to her! Merlin he, himself, was hanging onto his restrain by his teeth. He really wanted to push her against the wall and snog her breathless, or torture all these guys. It was a coin flip at the moment._

He has been trying, really hard, to not let Nix's dress affect him too much. Not with a lot of success. Her dress's color complimented her skin and eyes so amazingly. It highlighted all amazing parts of her body beautifully. Since she mostly wore robes, he didn't notice that she was getting curvier and her breasts were more developed. Her legs looked amazing, specially in those heels. He was, already, smacked twice by James, Frank, Kingsley and Reg, each, for staring at her for more than appropriate time. Nix would blush prettily while looking amused. That didn't help at all. It gave her such an alluring look that he wanted to do a lot more than just snog her. His whole skin was tingling and the places where their bodies touched felt like it was on fire. _Merlin!_ James decided to sit between them and Sirius was in a grumpy mood since then. Ur-anus leeriness was not helping in improving his mood at all.

"Err....Thank you for such a...bold compliment. But I am good, thanks.", Nix turned him down politely. Ur-anus didn't look put off by that at all. 

"That's alright. Then you could go out with me on the next Hogsmede trip?", Ur-anus asked importantly. Sirius was this close to hexing him. He was wondering if he would look better as a ferret or a pig. Pig, definitely.

"I am going out with Sirius, Flint.", Nix said a bit coldly. Sirius heart soared at that and he grinned widely. Before Ur-anus could open his mouth to fight his case, an extremely loud and smelly fart escaped him. He turned beet root red; turning around, he left without another word, trailed by more farting. The rest of the group dissolved into fits of laughter. 

Nix looked at James and Sirius amused and shook her head with a small smile. After a while of eating, talking and having a merry time. The group dispersed into smaller groups. James went off with Reg to get more ice cream. 

Sirius, who was sitting next to Nix again, whispered in her ears in a rough voice,"You look amazing, _A chroí."_ Nix blushed as she looked at him with inhibition but seeing the earnestness in his eye, her eyes beamed in happiness and her face lit up like Christmas. He felt air getting knocked out of him. Sirius kissed her on her forehead and resting his forehead against hers', he sighed in content. 

"Do you think, Moony is doing fine?", Nix worriedly whispered to him. It was full moon and Moony was right now roaming in one of the forests of Potters near his house, all alone. This function wasn't something any of them could get out of. Moony understood but the rest of them felt guilt twist their guts every time they saw the full moon shining brightly.  

Sirius moved a bit back and stared at the full moon in accusation, "He would be better if he was with us but he won't be too bad, especially with the potion. He should be fine. How is the research for cure coming along?"

Nix looked at the full moon and said thoughtfully," Domcas and Boo are doing a trail run of cure in some of the newly bitten werewolves to see if the present cure can do anything. If they can help new ones, then old ones would still have hope. The cure progress till now, has being positive. This is the final one. Lets see if its effect is as expected or not."

Sirius nodded but he was side tracked by her cute little pout she did when she was thinking about some problem. Sirius kissed her on her jawline and Nix gasped. He grinned. 

"Padfoot! You are not allowed to do that!", Nix said in warning, even if her eyes were a shade darker and she was biting her lips unconsciously. 

"Rules are made to be broken,  _A chroí_. Plus, no matter the official crap, we would still be married according to the ancient law, anyways.", Sirius said huskily as he bit her ear lobes lightly. 

"Sirius!', Nix warned. Sirius kissed her gooey point behind her ear, when Nix suddenly exclaimed,"Oh dad! This isn't what it looks like! Stop!"

Sirius fell down to the ground in his panic of getting away from Nix before her father hexed the life out of him. He got up frantically thinking of a hex-preventing defense and saw that PaPo was no where around them. James and Reg, were walking towards them, with huge grins on their faces having seen his epic fall. Sirius looked at Nix in confusion, who burst out in peals of laughter seeing his reaction. Sirius sighed. He was never living this down.  

Sirius huffed and was about to sit back down next to her, when James buggered in and sat next to her and Reg sat on her other side. Sirius glared at his two brothers. 

James grinned mischievously and said,"Go on then, Padfoot. Be a good boy, Padfoot. Sit!" James whistled.

Padfoot wanted to be a good boy, so Sirius gave up and sat in front of her. He was trying to hold on to his indignation but her laughter took all the annoyance away. He shook his head.

"That wasn't funny, Buttercup!", Sirius grumbled to her. Nix burst into laughter again. 

"Really? Because I got to tell ya, seeing you frantically falling down in an ungraceful heap on the ground, was pretty funny.", Reg said with a wide grin.

"Or your expression at realizing it was just us, not dad, was insanely funny.", James added with a grin, as he stuffed his mouth with ice cream. 

"Are you guys talking about me?", came PaPo's voice from behind him. Sirius yelped  _again._ He was _never_ living this one down.  

"We were just talking about the new found terror you have installed in my boyfriend, dad.", Nix said jovially. 

"I am a scary man, Princess!", PaPo said with a smile, while eyeing a nervous Sirius. James chortled and Reg grinned widely. 

"No, you are not!", Nix said it teasingly and softly. PaPo winked at her. 

"Where he is concerned, I am, my Princess.", PaPo said this while dropping a kiss on her head. 

"Anyways, come on. We have to leave. We need to meet Boo and Domcas early in the morning.", PaPo said.

The twins nodded and got up to go. The twins gave both the brothers a hug. Nix kissed Sirius on his sensitive spot on his jawline, winked and left. Reg chuckled at the loopy grin he knew he was spotting. He was happy. He turned around and Rosier was standing there. _Oh come on!_   _For the love of..._  

* * *

The bar in the Hog’s Head was small and extraordinarily dirty and strewn with sawdust, with the windows nearly opaque and the floor all but invisible beneath the dirt. There was an ancient wooden tillbehind the bar that served as cash register, and the entire room smelled strongly of something that might have been goats. Even the rags behind the bar seemed filthy; behind the bar was a rickety wooden staircaseleading up to a sitting room.

Sirius scrunched his nose in disgust and wondered why in the world did twins decide to come here. Remus looked to be having similar thoughts. The crowd made his hair stand on edge. He wanted to grab Nix and run away from this creepy arse place.

But the twins happily went behind the counter and hugged the dirty bartender, who looked like  he hasn't taken a bath or washed his hair in years. Snape looked like a hygiene poster boy in front of this bartender. The bartender looked very familiar, Sirius just couldn't place it. The bartender hugged the twins back, warmly, and pointed upstairs. 

The twins grabbed their hands and took them upstairs. It was cold, cleaner than downstairs and had a huge painting of a seven year old girl, who was smiling happily at them. The twins started to clean the place and started to fill his kitchen with food and other gifts. Remus and Sirius watched the two with intrigue.

The bartender came and introduced himself to the Sirius and Remus as Aberforth Dumbledore. They both gawked at the brother of the most powerful wizard in the world.

Aberforth was tall and thin, with a great deal of long, stringy grey hair and beard. His eyes were of a brilliant, soul-piercing shade of blue, and usually hidden behind the dirty lenses of his spectacles. While they carry some noticeable brotherly resemblance, his more casual attire and often grumpy disposition made him appear considerably less conspicuous than Dumbledore. He wore a very dirty apron. 

"Hey Abby. How have you been? We brought cheese and food for your goats.", Nix said happily as she settled down on one of the sofas in front of a 6 year old portrait of a young girl.

"Mom was upset that you missed this Christmas too. You ought to come once in a while, you know. She worries. Oh hey Ariana. How are you?", James said merrily to the portrait on the wall, who smiled warmly and waved back. James smiled back.

"This is Remus Lupin, studious bloke, and this is Sirius Black, my boyfriend.", Nix introduced them. Aberforth nearly crushed Sirius fingers during their handshake and looked into Sirius eyes, piercingly. Sirius felt like his whole soul was being put on display in front of this eccentric bartender. 

"I have a date with him, Abby. I would prefer if you don't feed him to your goats, yet.", Nix said dryly as she sorted through his mail.  

"You better behave or I know spells to vanish you.", Aberforth threatened Sirius, who gulped and nodded. The twins chatted with 'Abby' for a while and then left.

They all had already visited Zonko's and Honeydukes, and now were on their way towards their separate dates. Remus and James were going to Madam Puddifoot's tea shop to meet their respective dates. Sirius and Nix were going to Three Broomstick's Inn.

"Wanna explore Hogsmede a bit, before going for lunch?", Sirius asked Nix, who nodded.

The village was very quaint and looked like a Christmas card. Sirius pulled out his Polaroid camera (Christmas gift from Nix) and clicked a picture of Nix. This picture was definitely going on the blank wall in his room. He had decided to make the wall into a montage of memories. This photograph had the snowy village as background and in middle was gorgeous Nix, who was smiling in bliss. Her eyes and smile were brimming with love for him. He carefully placed the photograph and camera back in his pouch and kissed her deeply. 

"I am hungry now.", Nix said in a rough voice, after they stopped kissing. At his raunchy look, Nix blushed prettily. "Not that! I meant food, Padfoot.", Nix defended herself.

Sirius started to slowly walk towards her and she started to walk backwards. She stopped when her back was pressed against a wall. Her look made something in his heart melt. She looked so innocent yet alluring. He leaned against the wall on one arm and with his second hand, he pulled her close so that the rest of their bodies were pressed together. Her eyes made him forget everything, that wasn't her. 

He leaned forward and when he was just a breath away from her face, he said in a husky voice,"I was wondering if we could take a detour." Nix snapped her beautiful stormy eyes to his. Her eyes were beckoning him and he gave in to the urge. He kissed her softly at first, but then she grazed his hip bone and scratched his head, and the kiss turned passionate.  

After snogging for a long time, they parted gulping down air. Sirius's thumb lightly traced Nix's lips. It had a slight cut, where he has bitten down a bit roughly. He looked at her in apology, but she smiled it off and pecked him. After drinking the light healing vial that removed their 'detour' evidence (James would have his hide if he found out that Nix was hurt in any way during their date, or had love bites of any kind), they walked hand in-hand towards The Three Broomstick Inn.

The Three broomstick was warm, clean and filled with students from the school. Nix took off her long coat in the coats room and he paused mid way in process of  removing his coat. She looked badass and sexy. With her open hair, blue bracelet (that was his official gift to her), and that small smile, he could only stare at her. She looked hot! His mind was going in overdrive.

Nix looked at him standing in that ridiculous position, and bit her lips in amusement. She chuckled and walked towards him. "Sirius, your arms will hurt if you keep it that way for much longer. You can stare at me later.", Nix said teasingly. Sirius cleared his throat and hastily removed his long coat. He went from blushing to smug seeing Nix's reaction as she took him in.

Her eyes were slowly moving up his whole body (it felt like a soft caress) and she was unconsciously biting her lips (she needed to stop doing that if she didn't want him to pounce on her). He was wearing black leather jacket that James gifted him for his birthday and jeans with well fitting white buttoned shirt (few buttons were open on top). Her cheeks turned pink as her eyes landed on his slightly visible chest. He felt happy that the additional exercise, apart from quidditch practice he has been doing, has helped him get lean and fit. His muscles were already becoming well defined. His loose ponytail made his eyes and jawline stand out. He knew that because Nix had confessed it one night when she was bunking in with him. He knew she loved his jawline and eyes, and he wasn't above taking every advantage he had got.  

Nix, finally, looked in his eyes (it took a visible effort from her) and he smiled brightly and a bit smugly. Nix sighed and said softly, "There is going to be a riot out there. (Sirius looked at her in confusion.) You look ridiculously hot! Girls are going to tear this place down."

Sirius felt like he was gliding high on happiness. Nix thought he looked hot enough to cause a riot. He saw her glance down at her attire self consciously.  _Did she think she looks bad in that attire? She looks amazing and sexy._  Hmm..he needs to do a better job at telling her how amazing she looks. He did read in Queenie's book that girls tended to have very negative views about their bodies, even if there was nothing wrong. 

Sirius said softly,"Sure but only because the guys would be too busy drooling over you to pay any attention to their girls", Sirius finished the thought with a frown.  _Damn it! He forgot about other guys! He might end up hexing the whole place by the end of the evening. Did Nix had to look so sexy in every outfit?_

Nix smiled brightly, kissed him quickly and then lead them inside the cafe. And he was right. Everyone in the room, slowly, stopped and stared at the two of them. Sirius sighed in annoyance and reined in his anger when he saw several boys checking out Nix. He went to Madam Rosmerta, who was openly gaping at the two, and asked for a table near the window but away from the damn crowd. She lead them to a secluded spot with a great view and less ogling people. He ordered their lunch and drinks and settled down.

Nix smiled and said,"Do you reckon we should add Hogsmede to our map? I am sure we would be sneaking here a lot." Sirius shrugged.

"How do you think Prongs and Moony are doing on their dates?", Sirius asked Nix merrily, as he sipped his mulled mead. 

Nix laughed and replied,"Well knowing Moony, he would be a proper gentleman and have a nice lunch with no expectations. Violet would definitely want to snog him, though. She has had a crush on him since first year. Prongs, well....he likes Ava and I have already caught them snogging once near staircase. So my bet is they are currently making out."

Sirius laughed and said with an evil grin, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation," Oh, good. Now I can interrupt that annoying prat's alone time!"

Nix looked right in his eyes and said casually," Or you could use his distraction to do something else."

Sirius almost chocked on his drink at the suggestive look on Nix's face. "Yeah? Yeah! That would be better." Nix giggled. They continued talking till widely grinning Remus came back from his date and sat down at their table. 

"It was good. We talked about a lot of things. The place was ....too bright and pink. But she was brilliant company.", Remus explained about his date, with forced casualness. 

Nix nodded and said,"Yeah her brilliance can be seen on your lips or have you started to wear lipstick now?"

Remus quickly took the spoon on table to look at his reflection and Nix started to laugh. 

"There is nothing there, Moony. But good to know you have been snogged. Good going mate! She is a nice girl.", Sirius said with a smile. Moony half-glared at Nix, who looked at him innocently, and then started to laugh.

"Fine! The date was amazing and we are dating now. Oh, Prongs was getting snogged throughout his date and then they vanished somewhere. I haven't seen them since then.", Remus said with a chuckle. "Also, I saw Lily with Tom Fawley, fourth year Ravenclaw. They looked like having a good time too."

"Fawley? Really, she told me she didn't like him like that at all. She also said she wasn't going out with anyone this trip. I wonder what changed her mind to have a sudden date?", Nix said with a smirk.

Sirius snorted,"How long till these two idiots figure out they love each other?"

Remus said thoughtfully," 20 galleons say sixth year."

Nix shook her head,"20 galleons says, Prongs would realize sometime next year and Lily probably has already realized she likes him but will probably take a while to realize she loves him or could love him."    

Sirius looked at the road where they could see a happy James strutting towards them, "20 galleons says, he is horrible at getting Lily to go out with him as a romantic partner; and it takes them sixth year till they get together." They all shook on it.

"Moony, you are taking the new potion I got you, right? It would take a while for it to even start showing effect for longer affected people. But the results have been positive. We are very hopeful that by tinkering just one ingredient, we might actually have first concrete result. It won't harm you in any case, it would reduce your bone pain.", Nix said quietly. 

Remus nodded gratefully. James came bounding in and did his customary check of Nix. He seemed pleased that Nix had no marks. Sirius was glad too. James would have hexed him into oblivion. 

James answered their unasked question,"I am in relationship with Ava now. She is amazing, funny and loved quidditch. She is a great kisser too." James ended with a dreamy expression on his face.

Nix snorted and said,"Well the rules that apply to me, apply to you too. No snogging or any hot moments in front of me. No overly romantic crap too, or I will make you sit with her."

James grinned, nodded and kissed her on cheeks. Nix shook her head. The boys went to get food for all of them and some butterbeer. 

"So how really was it?", Sirius asked both of them, curiously.

"Honestly, I was going to kiss her cheeks after the lunch, but she turned her head at last moment and we kissed. It was amazing. I get why you can't seem to stay away from Nix.", Remus said with a grin. Sirius winked.

"It was great! We used the tongue and everything. I like her, you know. She is fun and intelligent too. We decided that we would be in a relationship now. Plus she loves quidditch and is going to go to world cup too!", James said excitedly as he ordered food for his twin and himself.

Sirius saw Lily seating within listening range. She didn't seem to be paying attention to Snape (who was scowling at Lily's lack of attention), instead was listening in to their conversation. Her face turned twisted when she heard James was dating Ava now. Sirius caught Remus eyes and they both grinned. Bet was on.

"Is Nix okay?", Remus asked as they all turned to look at Nix, who was looking at the snow filled road with a blank look.

"She is fine. She is sad about Ariana. Apparently, G3 and Abby never patched up, and Ariana never got better. Abby hardly ever meets us or G3. They haven't really spoken as brothers since we can remember. She is thinking how it would be if such situation happened with both of us.", James translated his twin's thoughts like he was reading her mind.

Sirius looked at James in amazement. Twin-speak was brilliant and awe-inspiring. _Did being born together give them some telepathic connection or were these two were an exception?_ James was caught in sudden rush and he took two butterbeers and left the two behind to get the rest. Sirius and Remus watched as James sat next to Nix and slightly nudged her. She looked at him with worry in her eyes and James kissed her lovingly on her cheeks.

"I am not going anywhere. No matter what! I am not leaving you. Got it? I love you too much. Plus, I need someone to stop me from putting the world on fire.", James told her quietly, as he ran his fingers through her hair. 

"Good. Don't or I will kick your arse! I love you, Jamie.", Nix whispered with tremor in her voice. They hugged it out. 

Nix, suddenly, looked mischievous,"So Ava, huh? So how was the snog? Used your tongue?"

James turned scarlet."I am not talking about this with my baby sister!", James exclaimed. Nix laughed. James shook his head and smiled. They were all going to be just fine. 

* * *

Of all the things that could have made her world upside down, it was the Moaning Myrtle washroom, or more specifically the sink. Every girl of the castle has been unfortunate enough or more likely desperate enough, to use Moaning Myrtle washroom. It was avoided like a plague by students. Moaning Myrtle was worse than gloomy Rosier, Sirius's words not hers. She almost puked because she knew what she saw. She now understands the true horror of Lord Voldemort.

 _Her nephew was young, well younger, here._ She doesn't think she would ever get over how much he looks like James. It was uncanny!  _There was a body next to him._ How many people have died in front of this sweet, strong boy? _The body_ _appeared to be of a first year girl with very bright red hair._ _It looked like she was on her death bed and getting closer to it._ Where was they?  _The place looked like it was deep underground with a lake (huh? ) and several tunnels. Maybe a sewer system? _

_There was a apparition._ _..no ghost... no whatever it was, it was turning..solid..that is not possible. Ghosts cannot get solid. It was not possible! This ghost of a rather good looking young man, was not looking like an apparition but rather like he was forming back into life. She felt some sort of recognition in back of her head about a possible explanation but it was fleeting._

_She then screamed and almost fell back when she was a huge, no a ginormous, snake like creature. It had a huge head that looked like a dragon and was very long. It was dead and his eyes were eaten out. It was lying dead next the lake._

What was that creature? _It was white, had huge teeth (one of which was in my nephew's hand), and was very very long._ Merlin, it looked like it 60 feet tall at least! _There was a sword lying next to the snake covered in white blood and venom._ What in the world...

_Her attention refocused on the rapidly solid turning ghost, her nephew who looked injured (she couldn't see any major injury except for a tear in his hand), and the paler looking red haired girl._

_Harry, her brave sweet nephew, dragged himself towards the pale girl and placed his hand near her neck. She knew he was checking for pulse. The solid looking ghost was looking very smug._ She wanted to smack the smile out of him. Git. Why wasn't he helping the children? Did he get pleasure killing children? _Then his voice rang out in the empty of the basement,_

 _"Ah, it amazing how quickly the venom of Basilisk works. You only have a few seconds before you join this foolish girl." said that good looking ghost._  Arse!

Merlin! Is that what that snake thing was? A Basilisk? Her nephew has fought and defeated a Basilisk! And was now dying. But she has seen him older. He wasn't going to die, was he? Or maybe she saw several different versions of reality changed by slightly different actions. She was freaking out. Oh Merlin!

 _"You will be with your dear mudblood mother soon, Harry." sneered the white git._  Son a bitch, when she gets her hand on this arse, she would throttle him. 

_"Funny, the damage a little book can do, especially in hands of silly little girl." said the smiling arsehole._

_Harry looked at that arse with hatred shining in his eyes._ She could understand the feeling, she wanted to beat the shit out of this coward too.

_"Soon, Lord Voldemort will rise again and the great Harry Potter, the boy who lived, would be dead. All because of a diary!"_

He was Lord Voldemort. Huh? What happened to this guy? He is a far cry from the devil incarnation she saw earlier. This one still looked human, a good looking at that, instead of deformed, slit nosed Lump. For someone who was this vile and inhumane, he looked too smug about his diary. Did he have to keep bringing the diary up in every sentence? It didn't look that special. It was ordinary one, you could get for 50 sickle.

Did he say something about the diary being reason for all damage? What damage? Is the diary killing that girl? Dark object? Its possible. She has read about several dark objects that could take life by touch. But this apparition-ghost thing along with diary....something was not adding up. Could burning or something, destroy this diary? Break the curse? 

 _Harry looked to be thinking along same lines_.  _He took the diary which was in the little girl's hand, opened it and stabbed it with the fang of Basilisk in his hand._  

Now that was something she would never have thought about. Stab a diary with a fang. It was certainly unique way of destroying a book. He really was James's son. It was such James thing to do. 

_A horrible scream rang out in the chamber and she saw Lump apparition-ghost have a light pierce through his almost solid form and blood sort of black goo was pouring out of the diary. Lump vanished with an echoing scream and black goo stopped flowing out from the diary._

_There was a sharp intake of  breath and the little girl woke up. She looked around in fear,_ Nix could understand that this place was rather ghastly for someone to have just woken up _. She saw Harry was about to faint. He smiled at her._ Her nephew was an amazing, kind and sweet human being. 

 _"Ginny, Ron is waiting for you at the tunnel. He will get you out. Its over Ginny, you are fine. He won't hurt you." , Harry said with a smile._ It looked like he was glad that she was alive, even if he was dying. Tears welled in Nix's eyes at this selfless boy. She needed to do something, anything _. Suddenly Fawkes flew in._ Fawkes?  _Harry looked at the bird and she could see his eyes were blurring and Ginny was crying._

_"You were great Fawkes. I couldn't have done it without you. You were so brave. I wasn't fast enough." Harry said to the bird._

Nix fell down on her knees sobbing for this little boy, who looked so much like his father. He seemed to have inherited James and Lily caring nature. Why was he alone here? Where are all the adults? Have the adults lost their guts or are they so incompetent that a 12 year old has to deal with all this crap?!? He was dying and his last act was to make the bird feel good about itself. Merlin! 

_Nix saw Fawkes cry and her tear fell on the injured hand of her nephew. Harry sat up straight and looked at the bird in wonder and awe. "Fawkes tears can cure any venom. Thank you Fawkes. It all right Ginny. I am alright. Lets get out of here."_

_He took the sword of Gryffindor_ (true Gryffindor then), _the sorting hat_ ( what? That is some weird fighting gear) _, the black goo covered diary. Holding Ginny hand , he flew off hanging on to Fawkes._

Nix came back to present. Oh Merlin! She knew why Lump looked like he did. She knew why he didn't die that night. Holy sweet Mother of darkness, Lump has made horcruxes. She is assuming plural as he still came back in the devil incarnation, even after this horcrux was destroyed.

So that bastard has taken  _that_  path towards immorality. That's why he didn't care about murdering. That's why he didn't die. He has made insurances. He has actually split his soul into at least two parts. Holy motherfuc...! She needed to talk to G3!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *original tumblr post  
> A chroí - my heart (pronounced Uh-KHREE)  
> Sorry couldn't edit this picture. The dress is in the right, taken from art.synthetic Instagram account.  
> The next chapter might take time. I have a test coming up. So please bear with me. I still have a lot of story left to tell. Cheers!  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	34. Wanton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said it would take time to write the chapter as it was supposed to be the snake chapter but its not now. This chapter built up on its own. Hope you like it.

"Si!!", Gloomy Rosier interrupted his perfectly happy breakfast time. Sirius internally sighed and ignored her. He saw all the boys around him, including Remus and Reg, look at Rosier with appreciative looks. "Si, I got you a Valentine gift!" saying that she placed a heavy box on the table next to him. 

"No thanks.", Sirius said jovially and continued eating his breakfast without moving his eyes from his plate. At Remus's reproaching look, Sirius turned to dismiss Rosier to her face because subtle indication went over her thick brain. 

Rosier was wearing a red dress which looked good on her but showed way too much cleavage. She was wearing too much makeup. She might have looked very pretty if she didn't overdid a lot of the things.  _When was she going to give up? Honestly!_

"Si, will you have lunch with me?", Rosier asked in an overly-sweet voice. She was being weird again. Jutted out lips, rapidly blinking eyes and encroaching in his personal space.

Sirius stood up and said politely,"Rosier, I am getting tired of telling you that I am not available or interested. Please find someone else who is interested in you, because I can assure you, I am not. Please take the gift back, I can't accept it."

Rosier looked crestfallen but shut her mouth as twins came thundering down. Nix looked beautiful in her jeans and simple blue strip shirt. Her hair was put up in a messy bun in the manner which said she didn't have time to comb it yet. Remus and Reg snickered. Sirius knew he was looking at her like a smitten dog but he was her smitten dog, so they can bugger off. 

Nix's face was lit up and her grin was almost splitting her face. "Padfoot! You won't believe it!". In her excitement, she stumbled into him. He caught her with a smile and hugged her. Deeply breathing in her summer scent, he pulled back and looked at her softly. She gave him her gummy smile.  _Merlin! He loved her!_

"Dad sent me his Valentine's Day gift! Its a NIMBUS 1005!!", Nix exclaimed excitedly. Sirius gaped. That broom wasn't supposed to be in market until next month. He was planning on gifting her that himself but the broom maker had categorically said, it won't be finished by then.

"Its so beautiful! Its fast and can go from 0 to 80 knots in 20 seconds! It also has advanced hand gripping broom with anti-lightening resistant charm!", James explained excitedly as Nix bounced on her feet. Sirius grinned. 

"Excellent. Where is it? Lets take it out for a spin! Didn't you get one too?", Sirius asked his thrilled best mate, who was standing behind Remus and Reg on the other side of the table. 

"Mom gifted him one as her Valentine Day's present! The brooms are actually our birthday present too. We are planning on taking them for a ride later. I am hungry. Can we eat first?", Nix asked him. Sirius nodded.

She sat down and eyed his gift mountain with a wary look. He settled next to her and kissed her behind her ear. She inhaled sharply and the look she gave him made him very eager for their date tonight. James pointedly ignored them and piled his plate with food. Remus and Reg were stifling their laugh at James's reaction. 

"Hey James!", Ava came, looking pretty in a red dress. _What was with all girls and red today?_  Sirius looked around and most of the girls were in red. James gave her a big smile with food still stuffed in his mouth. Nix grinned. 

"Hey Ava! Come on, join us.", Nix invited Ava.

Ava sat down and tried to engage James in a conversation. It was absolutely useless to engage him in a conversation when he was in his food devouring mood. Unless it was the Marauders, James sole focus was on his food. After a while, Ava seem to get it and busied herself with eating breakfast as well. 

Violet waved shyly to Remus and blushed when he waved back with a wink. Remus got a very smug look on his face. Sirius and Nix looked amused at the two newly-in relationship couples.  

Nix excitedly waved at Dumbledore, who waved back. The twins have since he had known them given Valentine's day gift to their G3. James wanted to gift G3 in the starting because he was afraid that his G3 was lonely and needed to be shown love. Since then, the tradition has continued. Dumbledore was wearing a pleasant red colored robes with stars sparkling on it (twins' gift along with hugs and kisses). Dumbledore had gifted twins a watch each, which he made himself from scratch. Dumbledore gave Nix a look at which she nodded.

Something big had happened some days back. Nix had gone to washroom, after they had converted all the stairs from dungeons into slides. Nix didn't come back for hours and when she did she was very quiet. It took her more than a couple of days to be herself again. She hasn't spoken about it but she has been meeting Dumbledore more frequently this year. The only reason he kept his cool was because James was unperturbed by this development.

Nix grew contemplative and had a furrow between her eyebrows which told him she was in deep thought. She was toying with her food and hasn't eaten one proper spoon of food since they sat down.  _What has made her so worried?_

James scooped a spoon of omelette from his plate and placed it in front of Nix's mouth. Nix was visibly startled by this and with a sheepish smile, she took the bite from the spoon. Some sort of communication must have gone between these two because James began to, happily, spoon feed Nix. Nix looked amused and James looked pleased to have gotten his sister out of her worried thoughts. 

Sirius smiled fondly as Nix said teasingly to James," It's good to be baby of the house! Right, Ancient?".

"Yup, it is, baby Potter. Now open up.", James said happily. Sirius saw Ava look unhappy that she was ignored in favor of food but Nix wasn't. Sirius shrugged. If the girl who is with James didn't get that Nix would always be James's priority, then that girl stood no chance in long run.

Lily sat next to Nix, wearing casual jeans and shirt, and smiled fondly at the twins' actions. Sirius smiled. Lily would be so much better than Ava, only if James would get his head out of his arse. James smiled sweetly at Lily, who smiled back. Remus caught his eyes and they both grinned.  Ava seemed more pissed by now. At least, life wasn't boring.

* * *

By the time they completed their breakfast, the mountain of gifts for Nix grew in size, as did for other Marauders. But the boys discarded their gifts and were watching Nix's gifts with furrow.   

"Umm...Padfoot, you didn't need to buy me all this. You already got me wardrobe of beautiful robes, so that Mom doesn't torture me next year with robes shopping.", Nix said to an equally confused Sirius.  _Oh, these are from other people? So many?_ Nix looked up to see James looking at the gifts with a frown that matched Sirius. Remus started to search for names of her admirers among her gifts.  

"Rodney, sixth year Ravenclaw chaser...Oh, this is from Mattew, forth year Huffelpuff...Ur-anus yuck.... Avery .... McMillain ..... Witney...", Remus continued to read the names of people who have gifted her on Valentine's day. Sirius and James looked like they were mentally making a list of her admirers. She was sure, it won't be to say thank you to them. She needed to talk to them about this. Sirius seems to have discarded the fact that he had similar mountain of gifts for him.

Nix looked around to see several boys looking hopefully at her.  _What was wrong with boys? Didn't they know Sirius and I are dating?_ Nix couldn't understand boys sometimes. She and James discussed about difference between a boy's romantic view and girl's. James explained that most boys were not very vocal about their feelings and showed it in small ways or physically. They didn't do a lot of emotions. But the boys she knew were not that closed off.

Girls were looking at Sirius like he was meat. She hated the fact that most of the girls just fawned over Sirius handsome looks, instead of his amazing personality which made him an incredible person. He was smart, sweet, caring, loyal and such a goofball. He was amazing and she was the luckiest person to be his soulmate.   

She felt irritated by the coarse judgement people passed on other people. _Oh, alright. She was jealous. Sirius was her boyfriend and these girls would not leave him alone!_  They didn't really do a lot of PDAs in public because of James. Also, she didn't like to be intimate in public. It felt too personal and honestly, her pureblood 'lady' training would kick in.

Sirius was the one who usually initiated kisses in public. He understood she didn't like people to watch them in that state, so the kisses were usually he-can't-help-it-and-have-to-kiss-you ones. They were brief kisses. Private was a different case, they were both passionate for each other. And since the charm was working, James left them alone too. Or more likely, he went to spend time with Ava, who was not shy.

She decided it was time for some action because this was getting ridiculous. She grabbed a surprised Sirius by his shirt and pulled him for kiss. She planned on it being a brief hard peck. But Sirius gently cradled her face and deepened the kiss into one which made her toes curl and hungry for more.

When they stopped, Sirius had a triumphant look on his face seeing her state after the kiss. The bugger knew she wanted to kiss him more right now but couldn't. Smug S.O.B.. She was horny but not in the public. She also knew he felt some form of validation at being passionately snogged in public by her. Oh, it helped tame his jealousy down.

James was ignoring them by stuffing his face with food. Reg, Ava, Lily and Remus were avoiding their eyes while spotting a ridiculous shade of red on their face. 

Nix shook her head with a smile and gave all the chocolates from her pile of gifts to Remus, who she was sure would eat it by end of this week. This guy's appetite for anything chocolate was ridiculous. Sirius and James, following her lead, gave their chocolates to Remus, as well. Remus looked like he has been given permission to make library his room. 

Sirius vanished both their gifts without looking at them; and then, proceeded to eat the waffle from her plate. She huffed and started to eat from the same plate as well.

Sirius was sitting pressed to her side and she was very aware of every place where their bodies touched. His hand was on her thigh (it wasn't intentional from him, it just fell on her thigh), but the hand was causing her skin to heat up and blush was rapidly spreading across her face. Sirius looked at her in confusion and at her pointed look, looked surprised that his hand was on her thigh. 

Instead of removing it, he started to slowly form circles with his finger and moved his hand lightly up and down her inner thigh. Sirius looked deep into her eyes and she forgot that they were eating breakfast with thousands of students and James. All she could see was the want and love in Sirius's eyes for her; and her breathing got a bit labored. She wanted to do things to him but then, James kicked Sirius from underneath the table.

Nix cleared her throat and looked up to see James glaring at Sirius, who took it with a grin and wink. James anger deflated and he looked up. Ava was looking petulant. Nix figured it was because James wasn't really paying her much attention.

Ava was nice but she was an outsider. No one got used to their non verbal conversations quickly. You have to part of inner circle to understand many of their, even, verbal talks, let alone non-verbal ones. Her brother was not used to being considerate about that. If you don't understand than it is none of your business, he would always say to people (Peter in particular) who complained to him about being left out. Nix hoped James's date plans would mollify her. After breakfast, they all went up to fly for a while before leaving to get ready for their Valentine's day celebration plans. 

* * *

Sirius was waiting for Nix to come down, so that they could go to the Meadow to celebrate. He had a whole picnic planned and everything was already settled there. The three Marauders were wearing jeans and buttoned shirt. James (white shirt) and Remus (blue shirt) were going to meet their dates at the Great hall, while Sirius (black shirt) and Nix would leave from here itself. He could smell her summery smell before he saw her. 

Nix came down with Marlene, Lily, Cady and Karen. She was discussing something with Lily standing by the wall near the stairs. Nix looked so sexy that he quickly rubbed his mouth in case he was drooling outwardly too.

Nix was wearing a black pleated mini skirt, which showed her amazing toned legs, with long black boots; white cami top and black leather jacket (gift from James); her open hair, bright red lipstick and slight makeup. It all made him close his eyes in an attempt to regain control on himself. Her father's charm would zap the crap out of him if he did what he wanted. It was a very poor attempt to reel back his randiness because now his brain only focused on her.

 _Merlin! She is planning on killing him! He will die of being zapped by her father's charm....Fuck!.. How is he supposed to behave when she looks like the epitome of sin? On a second thought, thank Merlin, she didn't put more effort on dressing up everyday, he would have spend rest of his life in detention for hexing horny boys for drooling over her. But damn it, she ...great, his jeans were getting tighter by the second._    

Nix finished her talk with Lily and looked at him shyly. Seeing his stumped reaction, her face glowed with happiness and she smiled. Sirius's feeble restrain snapped. He briskly walked towards her and in moments, he had her pinned to the wall behind them. He swallowed her surprised gasp as he began to snog her heatedly which slowed down into gentle kiss by the end. He rested his chin on top of her head; she hid her face behind her hair and his chest, while they got their breathing under control. 

She pulled back a bit when she was decently composed, and then grinned when she looked at him. She sweetly rubbed some lipstick off his face. He smiled and whispered sensuously, " You look so bloody beautiful!" Nix blushed and smiled coyly at him.  _Merlin! She was going to be the death of him!_ He, with great effort, managed to control himself slightly and turned to face the heat from her brother.

James looked at Nix and muttered, "Thank Merlin! Dad put that charm on you or I won't have been able to sleep properly at  night with worry! Merlin!". 

James looked at Sirius angrily but then huffed out a laugh. Sirius was confused and looked at Nix, to see her stifling a laugh as well. Remus snorted and showed him his reflection. He was sporting bright red lipstick all over his jaw that used to be on Nix's lips, while she looked perfect. He figured she used one of the make up spells to prevent lipstick from spreading all over her face. Not fair. Well, he guessed it was her revenge for when he covered her whole face and then neck (he couldn't help it) with irremovable lipstick marks.

In all fairness, it wasn't his fault. The girls had played their 'educational' pranks a couple of days back, so all the boys ended up wearing high heels and makeup. Every guy was wearing same colored eye shadow, lipstick and heels with mascara.  James was covered in purple, Remus yellow, Reg in green and Sirius was in dark red. So he did the next obvious thing (after managing somehow to reach their seats), kiss Nix all over her face and mouth. Since the girls had put non-removal charms on the make up, she sported his lips prints all over her face and neck (they had gotten handy later on). Sirius felt pleased that now all the rotten boys lusting after his girl, would get the bloody hint. She was his and he would torture anyone who disputed that. While James looked like he needed to puke every time he saw Nix, while the rest of them turned tomato red. Nix simply sighed in resignation and went on with her day.

He looked rather good today, if he would say so himself, covered in her lipstick right now. He wondered if he could stay like this and roam around the castle to tell everyone to back off. The presents in the morning had really riled him up. The boys who dared send her a gift would be getting a return gift soon from him and James. Speaking of who, Sirius grinned and blew a flying kiss towards James, who grinned back and cleaned him up. 

"Don't make me want to curse you and bring her back by 11!", James told him 'Siriusly'. Sirius nodded. He was surprised that Nix didn't object to it. They all started to walk towards the Great Hall.

"We have a deal. He can't say anything about our 'extra-curricular' activities, now that he is participating in too. But he can give you a warning and set reasonable curfew time.", Nix explained with a shrug. James grinned. Sirius nodded and they all went to their dates. Sirius held onto Buttercup's tail as she flew them to the Meadow. 

* * *

As soon as Nix converted back, Sirius was kissing her again. The kiss in dorm felt like warm up in face of the intensity of this kiss. She had been surprised to see such strong reaction from him over her dress. She was happy that the dress had far better response than she had hoped for. He was snogging her so passionately right now, she felt her body was on fire and her soul was doing a tango dance. All thoughts vanished from her mind, just as her senses heightened. His touch, his bloody amazing tongue, the gentle way he held her despite the intensity of their snog. Her toes were curled, her back arched and pressed closer to his chest, her pulse rate was skyrocketing. Their kiss ended and Sirius whole mouth and jaw was covered in red lipstick again. Nix grinned and pecked him again. She was sure she had no lipstick left now.

She looked around and smiled. The whole place was blooming with new flowers, there was a flock of birds who were singing a beautiful melodious song. They were standing near the lake, where a picnic basket was laid on a bed-sheet spread.

Her heart melted as she looked at Sirius, who was busy taking out food from the basket, sitting in middle of the bed-sheet. They all were talking few months back, when she had offhandedly mentioned how she misses picnics. He remembered that. She took in the gorgeousness that is her soulmate.

He looked so yummy. His shirt's top buttons were open and gave her a good view of his delicious, firm, fit chest. She could write tons of poetry about his physique, his grey eyes, his kisses which made her world concentrate down to just him. She sighed. He was just so handsome and he was all hers. She was the idiot who was wasting time mooning about him when she could spend the time kissing him. Well, she would rectify the situation right now. 

She sat on Sirius's lap with her legs saddling him; her face just inches away from his lipstick covered face. Sirius looked so handsome in his black shirt with a loose ponytail. Nix traced his jawline softly as she looked in his darkening grey eyes. His eyes held so much love for her that she could drown in them.

Sirius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. There was hardly any space between them. She smiled softly and kissed him slowly and, what she hoped, sensually. Sirius hummed in their kiss and it felt like that vibration made it's way down to her spine, spreading joy and need for him. Nix sighed in content. 

Sirius deepened the kiss and a sudden frenzy caught up to them. He removed her black jacket and lowered her down on the bed-sheet. He pushed into her harder, making her groan, which he swallowed. Nix's hands clutched Sirius shirt tightly and pulled on it roughly. It really felt like her lifeline to her sanity as Sirius pushed her towards the unknown realms of pleasure. 

She broke away from the snog when the need for air became high. Sirius's lips never left her skin and started to suck, lick and bite all the skin available to him, which was a lot. Her cami's thin straps had dropped down her shoulder and was top was just hanging on to her. She thanked Merlin, that she wore her good, sexy bra, not the comfy ones. Her skirt had ridden up and her Cami top was all bundled up at her waist.

The louder her moans were, more excited Sirius got in his ministration. She was in heaven. He was her heaven. There were no thoughts, nothing, except the feel of Sirius on top of her; his amazing mouth and tongue pleasuring her; his hands holding onto her like she was his lifeline.

Nix breath hitched when she felt Sirius's hand on her thigh. He was making small circle on her inner thigh while his mouth worked wonders on her neck. She moaned so loudly when he bit her on her collarbone that she was sure people near forbidden forest would have heard her. Her grip on his shirt caused few buttons from it to pop away.

Nix opened her eyes and looked straight into very dark grey eyes of her soulmate. He looked at her like she was fulfilling some fantasy of his. _OH! Maybe it is one of his fantasy. Hmm...maybe she could fulfill hers then._ She flipped him onto his back, straddling on his stomach. She removed her arms from the annoying straps of her cami shirt. It bunched above her waist. He looked at her like he would devour her, right here, right now. But she needed to do some exploring of her own. He would get zapped if he got too excited, and that would just kill the mood.  _hmmm..if he can't do the pleasuring for a while, maybe I can do that to him. I wasn't zapped, yet, so the spell is only on my body..._

"Be a good boy! No touching me okay? Stay! ", Nix told him, pointing a strict finger in his direction. Sirius looked amused and aroused, but he nodded and placed his hand underneath his head in star cross manner. This position gave him a good angle to view her and making sure his hands stayed to him.

Nix looked at him in warning and he nodded and laid still like a good boy, all the while intensely staring at her. Nix felt unsure but decided to try to bring him as much pleasure as he brought her. She bent down and started with hot opened mouth kisses on his gorgeous jawline. The places where his breathing hitched or he groaned or moaned, she gave those spots special attention.

Nix continued her exploration down his neck and shoulder. Sirius's frequency of groans and moans gave her confidence that she was doing alright. She opened his shirt buttons and slowly trailed her hand down his fit chest. His muscles contracted and almost rippled under her touch. She looked up in his eyes and bit her lips. She knew it drove him crazy when she did that. Sirius growled and his hand found it's way to her arse, squeezing them hard.

She bent down and kissed his chest leaving bite marks everywhere. She discovered that if you twirl your tongue in certain way at few places, Sirius hips jerked involuntarily. Nix was slowly unhinging Sirius with every kiss, bite and lick on his chest.  _Why hasn't she done this before? It was amazing!_  When she sucked on his hip bone and bit it lightly, Sirius flipped them and snogged her almost desperately. His hips were moving at fast rate against her thigh as he searched for friction to be completely undone. Nix kissed him back sensually, while scratching his head and tracing her other hand slowly across his spectacular chest. He groaned loudly and collapsed on top of her as his hips slowed down. His 'O' face was ingrained in her brain.

Nix grinned in satisfaction and bit smugly. She did this to him. Nix softly ran her hand through his back as he came down from his high. "Merlin! That was ...that was amazing!", Sirius said winded. Nix felt giddy that she had such effect on him.  _At least I am not as hopeless at this as I thought I would be._

Sirius pulled himself up a bit to look at her pleased smile and beaming face, and smiled back. He kissed her so softly and sensually that she moaned loudly in the kiss. Sirius hand reached to touch, hold or just feel her breasts, she didn't know because dad's charm zapped him. He whizzed and fell next to her. She worriedly checked him over.  _Merlin, her father! Punishing Sirius for pleasuring me, honestly!_

They both laid down side by side trying to get their breathing under control. Nix turned and kissed his cheeks softly. "Happy Valentine's day,  _Mi cielo._ Its spanish for my heaven.", Nix told him shyly. Sirius smile blinded her and she smiled back just as happily. 

"Happy Valentine day,  _A chroí._ ", Sirius said back with an extremely soft look and kissed her softly. Sirius broke the kiss when Nix stomach rumbled and huffed. "Come on, lets fill your tummy before it growls at me.", Sirius told her humorously. Nix chuckled. 

Sirius sat up and then blushed, when he realized that his jeans were wet and probably sticky. Nix grinned and did the clean spell. Sirius jumped slightly and giggled. "It's ticklish!", Sirius defended himself at Nix's raised eyebrows. Nix burst into laughter. When she regained her composure, Sirius was looking at her fondly. She winked and he grinned. Nix was properly dressed now at Sirius's request. Sirius said he won't be able control himself if she sat in front of him looking so sexy. They started to eat the assortment of food Sirius brought for them.

"So are you going to tell Prongs about what happened here?", Nix asked him soberly, while her eyes were bright with mischief. Sirius chocked on the cake he was devouring and then proceeded to cough. 

"What? NO!", Sirius said in high squeaky voice while his face looked like he is imaging what hex James would torture him with and what his eulogy would say. Nix snorted. Sirius shook his head.

"Merlin! He can never know! He would torture me for hours for this. Or your dad would.", Sirius said in still same high pitched voice. Sirius's new found fear for dad was amusing to say the least. 

"For what? You pleasuring me or me making you cum?", Nix said slyly. Sirius chocked on water this time and sputtered it all around him. Nix stifled her amusement as she looked at him with innocence.

"Merlin! Buttercup! You can't say things like that. Its both arousing and scary at the same time!", Sirius said in mixture of wonder and horror. Nix chuckled. 

"Calm down! I wasn't going to say anything! Jeez..I value my peace, thank you very much. Plus I love make you so unhinged.", Nix said brightly as she ate a tart. 

Sirius said in a flirtatious tone,"Yeah?" Nix hummed in answer. Sirius blushed again. He shook his head and had a glazed look as they ate.

They were watching stars as Sirius confidently pointed out different stars in the sky above them. She still didn't understand how he differentiated between one dot and another. They were laying down on the bed-sheet, Sirius had his arms underneath him in a star cross while Nix was using his bare chest as a pillow.

Nix got lost in her thoughts about the snake, horcurxes and the new information that came out after her last vision. The fact that Lump was actually Tom Marvalo Riddle, a half blood born out of love potion to Marvalo's daughter, was astonishing. The fact that Sirius was right all along, made her smile. He was sharp alright.

Lump was a bloody half blood, who was waging a war on everyone. She wondered how the pureblood fanatics would react to this information. G3 was busy these days trying to track all information about Riddle's past to help understand Lump better and figure out what his horcruxes were and how many were there. To split your soul in half and then again into half after murdering someone, to live longer. What kind of living is that? You might as well get a dementor's kiss (They suck your soul out, leaving behind vegetable body) .

She also had another worry eating her. The bloody magical snake. The snake was slytherining around her as if it was impatient. What was she not doing that the snake wanted? But that was actually down on her list of worries. Her major concern was that it looked at James with vicious intent. She was worried that when the snake finally came for her, James would be injured in his attempt to save her or be near her. Her brother was courageous and loyal to a fault; and when it came to people he loved, no cost was high to assure their safety and happiness. She had to make sure that James stays put while she goes through whatever it is she is going to go through. She had already asked Remus to make sure James and Sirius don't run into the magic. But that wasn't enough. These two never listened to anyone but each other when they became headstrong.

Sirius brushed his hand against her hair, softly. She looked at him and saw concern in his eyes. She knew he wanted to ask what happened in the washroom, but how was she going to tell him anything when she had no proof of its validity. She placed her head on the bed-sheet as Sirius rolled on his side towards her with his head resting on his propped up arm. 

"I need you to promise something to me.", Nix said gravely. It was the only chance, she could save both from harm and Remus (he was another brave idiot). Sirius nodded immediately.

"No, you have to swear on your love for me.", Nix said assertively. Sirius looked shocked by this and stared at her fierce expression for a while and then nodded slowly.

"When the time comes and the magical snake deems me worthy, I will be attacked/bestowed, I don't know, by magic. I think this magic will harm anyone that isn't me. I need you to promise me that till the magic swirl doesn't dissipate, you will keep James away from that magic and me. That you will keep him safe.",Nix stated calmly but firmly.

"I swear on my love to you that I would keep James away from you when you are attacked by the magical snake.", Sirius said gravely. Nix smiled and her body relaxed by the relief that was flooding her. They were both going to survive this unscratched. 

Sirius nuzzled his nose in her hair and hugged her tightly. She knew he was scared when she talked like that. She would have been too, had she been in his place. Nix decided to talk about lighter topics,"Isn't it hilarious that a deer can see almost 300 degree but Prongs can't see 5 feet away from him without his specs?" Sirius snorted and agreed.

They talked about this and that, while snogging in between, till Nix watch started an alarm to warn her that her curfew time was near. They packed everything and Nix bunked in with Sirius wearing his loose t-shirt and her shorts, which was in his trunk.  

James came stumbling in the dorm past 12 and Nix tutted. "Really, Prongs? Breaking your own curfew? Must have been some date to make you stumble like a drunk.", Nix said teasingly.

"Oi! Shut it you. I just lost track of time (Nix raised her eyebrows). I did! Shut up! Had fun tonight? (Nix nodded happily) Good then, I don't have to curse him. It's late, get some sleep. I am fine and happy, Buttercup. The date was great but I am tired now. Good night, sis.", James said quietly. Nix smiled and snuggled into Sirius's bare chest, who tightened his hold on her in his deep sleep. Nix kissed his chest where his heart was beating strongly. Sirius sighed in content in his sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mi cielo- my heaven in spanish  
> A chroí” (uh KHREE): Meaning “Heart" in Irish  
> Next chapter would be about the magical snake. What do you think the snake will do? Can Nix survive it without any damage?  
> Also next few chapters might be slow to come.  
> Comments are always appreciated.  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	35. Fatal

"The match was amazing! It was brilliant! You two were just fantastic! Your hit on Lestrange was barking, Marl! Nix, that dive! Merlin! It almost gave me a heart attack! But Wow! Malfoy wasn't even close when you caught the snitch.", Lily was still gushing about the victory which gave them the Quidditch House Cup. 

The match had been intense with Slytherins' resorting to cheating and very rough play to win. They had 8 penalties in first 5 minutes itself. Despite all of that, Gryffindor won by 60 points. James and Sirius, right now, were getting patched up as Lestrange brothers kept targeting the Marauders specifically. 

Well the Lestrange brothers lasted for 20 minutes before Marl and Sirius knocked them both out of the game. But the Lestranges had been able to hit them all, a couple of times. James played with a 'minor' broken collarbone through the match scoring 12 times, and only went to hospital wing because John dragged him there.

Sirius had his shoulder dislocated. He, too, was dragged by an exasperated John to the infirmary. John had broken ribs and few broken bones. Mary broke a bone in her arm. Miraculously, Nix and Marl were the only ones not badly injured.  All the stupid quidditch players were playing with broken bones and bruises in vigor, like it was an inconvenience or a minor bruise. Remus was staying with them to make sure they do get treated completely.

Not that Remus had to stay because _Ava_ , the sweet, funny, quidditch fan and James's counterpart in Huffelpuff, was there, being caring, lovely and wonderful towards her injured _boyfriend._ Ava, the adoring girlfriend that she is, had been very worried about her boyfriend. Of course, snogging was part of easing the worry. You can't ease your worry without snogging your boyfriend in front of everyone like a freaking porn! 

Lily wanted to blast Ava off James lips. Why? She didn't know but she did. So when Marl said she wanted to see the stars, Lily quickly agreed. She didn't need to see them sucking each others faces any longer. The boys had made sure to get the girls checked first, even if they were the ones with broken bones. Gryffindors were chivalrous indeed. Nix and Marl had bruises which were healed in seconds.

James had brushed off Ava's snogging attempt off, when Nix was being checked. Lily felt extremely happy about that. She knew he was scared that Nix was hurt more than she let on and hasn't said anything. The blow to her stomach was brutal but she had no broken bones, only black bruising, which had all three of the boys cursing venomously.

Sirius and James refused to let her, even, sit till her bruising got healed completely. They didn't get treated till she was fine. Lily thinks Nix agreed to gazing stars so quickly because James told her that he would give her a piggyback ride since she was injured. Not like he had a broken collarbone or anything. Nix rolled her eyes and told the two black haired boys strictly, who were still hovering over her, that she was going for a walk with the girls and no she didn't need piggyback ride for that. She made Remus in charge of making sure that they got properly healed.

Ava promised Nix that she would take very good care of her brother with a very suggestive look at James, who promptly chocked and flushed red. Nix rolled her eyes at Sirius, who was looking at her hopefully, and kissed him on cheek. She got up to leave, only for Sirius to pull her in for a snog. James sighed and got up to get his collarbone healed. Remus was both snickering (at James) and gagging (at the snogging couple).

Only after Marl said loudly,"Oi! Lets go! I don't want to miss dinner!", did the couple parted. Nix winked at dazed Sirius and left the hospital wing. Lily and Marl giggled at the pout Sirius had, as he watched Nix go. He looked like an adorable puppy.

Remus muttered,"Bloody Puppy!" and then said in louder voice while slapping hands on his bend legs,"Come on here, boy! Come here!".

James had an extremely mischievous grin on his face, standing beside Remus in same posture, he whistled and said," Come on, Padfoot! Be a good boy! Come here!"

Sirius looked at the two in mock anger and stuck his tongue out, "Tossers!", but went anyways. Everyone crackled and the girls, sans Ava ( _thank God!_ ) and Mary, left to join Nix on their night stroll.    

The anger which had taken over James and Sirius, when Nix was hit was sensational. James had scored 3 goals in three minutes. He did all that while punching Ruffle right in the nose, making it look like it happened while he was trying to grab the quaffle. He also slammed Rudolph in the chest using his broom while throwing the quaffle in a spectacular spin-dive combination. Sirius had disposed the Lestrange brothers and Avery off soon after that. From there on, it was a smooth ride for the Gryffindor team. Lily loved James's protective side, it brought something out of him that made her heart beat faster. 

"How could the boys and Mary have played with broken bones, like that didn't matter? Or you two have played with that sort of bruising?", Lily asked in wonder. She never could get the passion and commitment it took these people to play the game. They all have heard and seen players play the game shouldering on various painful injuries to see their team win. But to tolerate this amount of pain for a game was insane!

"It's Quidditch, Lily.", Marl said casually as if that answered the question. Lily still felt confused.

Nix chuckled and said," It's like rugby. You know you might loose few body parts or at least break a few, but playing the game is more important and exhilarating than few broken bones that may or may not happen. It sports, Lily, passion can make you tolerate anything."

Lily shook her head. She understood the thrill and excitement of watching the Quidditch match but she could never play against such ruthlessness for a bloody game. She admired these guys for playing the game but she never could. She preferred being a spectator than being in middle of such a recreational activity that would leave you with broken bones.

"Why were the Lestranges' targeting you three specifically?", Lily wondered aloud.

"Ah.. Bella is no longer a Black, well not in name anyways. She is a Lestrange now, which means she can do what she wants, as much as she wants to. You see Bella hates three of us. She blames us for stopping Lord Black, Lord Malfoy, Lord Nott, Lord Rosier, Lord Sewly being among the prominent ones, from supporting and helping her Lord in his amazing journey of changing wizarding world. All Prongs and Padfoot, did during the galas and dinner parties was make logical points which changed these pureblood Lords' mind."

"You see we ate up the Dark Lord's major financial and social support base. So they are venting their frustration in this manner. They won't get in trouble for hurting us in a quidditch match back home. Padfoot is the Heir of the Black family. You don't go upsetting Lord Black, when majority of businesses in the wizarding world are run by him. So by targeting us in a school game, they avoid the blow back from the Blacks. It's a game. No death, no foul.", Nix explained calmly. 

Marlene took the news like this was given and it wasn't something new. Hurting your own family while disguising it as a game, cannot be normal. Some things of wizarding world were too weird. But from all Lily had heard and witnessed, the sacred pureblood families (some of them) were odd, to say the least. They married within their own families, even sister-brother got married to keep bloodline pure. It was insane.

Half of the new generation of these families were insane, magically weak or plain dumb, like Goyle. Merlin! He was as thick as a Rhino's skin. In her batch itself, apart from Sirius, none of the sacred pureblood families' children were good. They were at most average in all fields and most were barely holding on. Although, the Blacks, all of them, were surprisingly very powerful and magically capable. They might be brilliant in different fields but it was still true. 

There is Sirius, who is brilliant in almost everything and to top it off, is an excellent boyfriend too. Then Regulus is polite, studious, top of his batch and a great seeker. Bellatrix is off her knockers but she is terrifyingly brilliant in magic. Cissy, the proper lady, is adept at magic too. Apparently, she is a protege in Potions. Then their older sister Andy, who graduated before they entered school, is currently working under Nicolas Flamel on his project, who personally her sought out. 

"Talking about family, my parents told me my sister is getting better. Her nightmares haven't stopped but she has stopped being a pain in the arse for my parents. She even sent me a book she liked, in case I wanted to read it. We used to do that when we were young. Of course, the book is about witch hunting back in the days. But I suppose, it still counts.", Lily said hopefully.

Nix frowned but nodded. "It is a very, very small step. But a step, nonetheless.", Nix said with a forced smile. "Merlin! I hope there is pie when the party begins. I have a huge craving for it!"

Lily grinned as memory of the Pie bursting fiasco came into her mind. They were all having their dinner when suddenly pies burst up in the air shooting glitters all over the hall. The kicker was that not everyone was stuck with glitter all over them. There were only few boys, including Sev (Sirius said that depressed dude needed some color in his life. Sev did _not_ see it that way), on whom the colorful glitters stuck everywhere. The said guys were curiously the ones who had sent Nix gifts on Valentine's day, a couple days back. Nix looked at the boys, who had their most innocent face on. They had never looked more guilty.

Nix said a bit sternly, although her lips were twitching,"We have talked about this! You guys weren't supposed to take revenge for them sending me gifts! Its not like the gifts meant anything. Why..."

"We haven't done anything mean. It is a simple prank. Sirius was planning on throwing them in chilled lake, naked; and James wanted to shower them with stinksap. After your talk, we decided to do the harmless prank instead.", Remus said with a smile.

"The glitter won't be worn out for a week and they can't remove it even if they stay in water all day. It would slowly stick to their skin, everywhere.", James said with glee. Nix rolled her eyes, but still looked troubled. 

"They would only glitter, Buttercup. Its nice to see some color in the castle, isn't it?", Sirius added with a placating smile. Nix smiled and dropped the matter.

It turned out that James had 'accidentally' dropped itching powder in the glitter. So these poor boys were seen scratching themselves everywhere and anywhere. They got in quite a pickle at a lot of times. The poor boys didn't have a moment's rest for the whole week. Nix was ticked off but Remus talked her out of it.

Lily smiled as she thought about how smug Sirius looked as they waited in line for transfiguration with Nix beside him next day. The line had most of the boys dripped in glitter from head to toe. The boys gave Sirius stink eyes and Sirius began to grin. Lily waited for him to start preening like a peacock. Nix was busy informing Marl about their quidditch practice later on.

Nix looked up at Sirius, who was staring at her lips with longing (which was absurd. James, literally, had teared apart the two happy snoggers to reach class on time, just minutes ago) and his hand was on her waist possessively. Lily figured he was pissed and a bit jealous about all the boys around them liking Nix like that. Sirius has always been possessive about Nix and his friends.  

To Lily's surprise, Nix stood on her toes and kissed Sirius. Not the usual peck but a deep throat one which had Sirius moaning out aloud. The girls all blushed crimson while the boys were watching them with jealously. James sighed and looked up, ignoring the two completely as was Remus. After they parted, they were looking at each other with so much love that Lily looked away.  _Phew, these two! She needs a bloody fan!_

James cleared his throat loudly and Nix jumped, slightly, in surprised. Then she yelped, when she saw everyone looking at them. Nix flushed and hid behind her open hair. Lily snorted. _Nix forgot that they were among other people._ Nix had confided in her that at times she forgot that she was in company, when Sirius got this certain glint and intensity in his eyes. Lily could understand. That was some look.

Sirius nudged Nix and smiled softly as if to reassure her that it was alright. Nix relaxed a bit and gave a small smile. Sirius kissed her on her cheek and she blushed again. Sirius looked ready for round two, when James pulled Nix away from Sirius and started to talk to her about the World Cup, while making sure he was standing between the two of them. Nix and Sirius looked amused at James's antics but went along with it.

"So how come James is okay with you two making out in front of him, now? Didn't he promise Sirius that he would hex his weeny off, if he caught you two sucking faces?", Marl asked, amused.

Nix snorted and said with glee," When I went in relationship, Prongs had one condition: no snogging or hot moments in front of him. We agreed because, really, that would have been awkward for us too. But then, he and his girlfriend can't keep their hands off each other. The number of times I have caught them snogging was getting ridiculous, so it's a payback. He can't say anything till the numbers are even. Padfoot has never been more happy that Prongs has a girlfriend."

Marl chuckled and said," I will bet!"

Lily, on the other hand, felt like she was nauseous. Bloody girl! Kissing in public like a ....urghhh....Why was she so angry about James snogging his girlfriend? That's what girlfriend do, right? But ugh, Lily couldn't help but want to tear the bloody beautiful  _Ava_  a new one for doing that.

They had finally reached the top floor of the West tower. Marl wanted to see the stars but no one wanted to walk that much or climb so many stairs, to reach the astronomy tower's roof. So they were walking towards their tower's roof to see the stars. It was usually a very deserted corridor with mostly couples scattered around in shadows.

"So Nix, ever been here to make out with Sirius?", Lily asked her teasingly. Nix blushed and cleared her throat. Marl snickered. 

Lily has been teasing Nix everyday since the Valentine's day. The day after Valentine's day, Lily went to boy's room to ask the boys where Nix was because her bed was empty and still made. Lily was worried as it was already late morning and Nix normally returned to the dorm by then.

She saw everyone but Remus were still asleep. She definitely did  _not_ ogle James, who was sleeping bare chested. Was he always this fit? She definitely didn't eye his slowly but surely forming abs. He looked so cute sleeping slightly diagonal like that. His mouth was half open and he was drooling. His hair was wilder than ever, and he never looked better than this. _Wait, what? Nope. Not going there._ James has a girlfriend, who Lily is sure, is responsible for the large hickey on his neck and...shit..was that a hickey on his hip bone? Lily suddenly felt sick. She shook her head and looked for Nix.

She felt a blush rising on her face at Nix and Sirius sleeping together (Nix head was on his bare chest and Sirius arms were around her). That's not what was making her blush, she had seen them together in one bed far too many times, but the fact the Sirius was shirtless and had hickeys all over his chest and Nix's neck and shoulder were colored in red with blue splattered all over. They looked like...well..like in the movies how actors are shown after the night of passionate love making. So they clearly have enjoyed the night. Their marks on each other said as much.

Remus came out of the washroom, showered and dressed, and looked at her with intrigue. When he saw the two love birds, he sighed in loving exasperation and shrugged. Nix opened her eyes and yawning made to get out of the bed; but Sirius engulfed her in a hug and continued to sleep with his head underneath her chin. Nix smiled softly as she trailed her hand through his hair. Sirius hummed and buried deeper into her. Nix blushed at seeing Lily grinning evilly with a teasing spark lighting her emerald eyes.

Three months after that faithful day, Lily was still teasing Nix about it. Nix always blushed and then, changed the topic. Before Nix could do it this time, they heard an extremely dreadful scream. 

"NO...NO....STOP! PLEASE! STOP! Please...please! Stop! AAAA...." 

The three of them ran through the corridors as the scream got louder and more anguished.  _What in God's name was happening?_   It sounded like someone was being tortured, quite brutally. As they turned around the corridor, they all stopped in horror. There was a group of students who were surrounding someone, who was unconscious on the ground. That someone was bleeding profusely and had her hand at an every awkward angle. She had bruises all over her body and pus was oozing from places.

Nix yelled "HEY!!". The group turned as one towards her.

Bellatrix, Lestrange brothers, Avery, Carrow twins and Bulstrode  were surroundings the almost unconscious girl. All her tormentors had their wands out and looked extremely pleased by the state of the girl on the ground. Lily saw Nix look at the girl on the floor, then up at the seven Slytherins standing there. Nix had a very calculative look on her face, and then she squared her shoulders.

"Marl, go get any professor you can find. Run!", Nix whispered to Marlene, who promptly ran to find a Professor. There were no portraits on this corridor. It was quite famous for that reason too. It was going to take a while for Marl to find any Professor, since all would be at dinner and dinning hall was quite some distance. Lily really hoped that she could at least get the Marauders. They in themselves would be enough to even the odds or at least help in holding these sadists back. 

"Lily, stay out of the fight and try to help the girl there. She won't survive for long with that much blood loss. You know healing spell (Lily nodded), good, use that to heal most of her injuries and then see if you can reduce that pus somehow. Help her, alright. Leave these nutcases to me. I will draw them away.", Nix muttered to Lily, who protested and drew her wand too. Nix sighed and said," Fine! Watch my back then. I will take care of these dunderheads."

"Well, well...if it isn't the future Mrs Black. Come on  _sister,_ join in teaching this magic thief and absolute blabbering idiot, what it is to be a proper pureblood witch.", Bellatrix said manically.

Lily felt alarmed. Nix took a deep breath and smiled. She still hasn't taken out her wand. Lily wondered what her plan was because these guys looked ready to play till hell rained fire.

"Oh? I didn't know that  _real_ witches needed to prove themselves by going against one witch and that too by ganging up on her. I have to say it says more about you than the girl on the floor. Seven to one. I am sorry but I would rather applaud the girl on facing you seven cowards, alone.", Nix said sweetly with a freaking smile.

Bellatrix seethed," You bitch! You absolute horrid piece of shit! I know it was you who cursed me! I know it! I will make you pay for the crap I had to endure since my wedding. You bloody blood traitor! I promised Sirius, my darling cousin, that I torture you till death. Looks like today is your lucky day.", Bellatrix grinned like predator about to strike an injured prey.

Nix  _smiled_  like she was indulging a toddler instead of a murderous lunatic with frighteningly deadly skills and no moral compass. _What the hell? Surely, Nix doesn't think she can take on seven dark spell hurling lunatics alone? Oh crap! That what she is thinking! BLOODY HELL! Where are the boys when you need them? At least they would have slightly evened the odds. Shit! Okay, I can do this! I will help my friend and try and save that poor girl. Is her whimpering getting shallower?_

"One last thing, Phoenix Euphemia Potter. (Nix looked politely puzzled at Bellatrix, who looked to be on verge of casting some nasty spells. Nix has clearing lost control ofher mental facility!) I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former neighbor.", Bellatrix said as she twirled her wand between her fingers like a freaking artist. 

 _Was that quote from 'Spaceballs', a muggle movie? Has Bellatrix already cast a hallucinating spell? Bellatrix Lestrange knows about muggle movies? Or maybe_ _, I am nervous. That is more plausible than this.  Anyways, Bellatrix is notorious for her magical capabilities and her knowledge of dark spells. Breath! I only have to hold her off till help comes along. I can do this. Yup. I am doing this!_  

Nix looked more entertained by Bellatrix and asked with an amused intrigue," And what does that make us?"

Bellatrix sneered," Absolutely nothing! And that is what you are going to become!*", saying this she flicked her wand towards Nix, who grinned.

A bright red colored spell flew towards them so fast that Lily finally believed her science teacher that light travels fast, because _bloody hell!_ Lily froze in panic as the rest of the six lunatics relaxed and looked on as if entertainment has begun. Bellatrix looked gleeful which was scary as hell. She looked like a female version of Satan. _Maybe Sunday Church's did rub off on my mind, if I am referring to Satan and stuff._  But, it is always said you go back to your roots when you are terrified. This counts as being absolutely petrified.  _Stop babbling in your head and focus on the present which is going to be painful to say the least._

Nix drew her wand so fast that for Lily it was all a blur and proceeded to calmly deflect the curse with a lazy flick. Nix was standing unruffled with twinkling eyes, as she watched in amusement the reaction of all her opponents. The seven attackers' bodies went slack, their mouth wide open and eyes as wide as saucers. The gobsmacked look would have been hilarious if the situation wasn't so dire. Avery seems to be reevaluating everything in his life; while Ruffle...err...whatever his real name is..damn you Remus, looked at Nix with an dirty look.  _Jesus! I need to keep an eye on that weirdo, in case he tries something with Nix. Idiotic, mute, horny, vampire horseshit!_

Everyone was still gaping at not only the super human reflex Nix displayed but also by that the fact that a third year was doing non-verbal spells so easily. Lily has heard from Alice how even most of the seventh year had difficulty mastering difficult spells non-verbally; and how simplest of spells' strength reduced significantly when done non-verbally till control on magic got better. Nix ability to do this so young and so easily was beyond impressive.

Nix weaved her wand in some pattern and suddenly Lily and the girl on the floor were covered in a magical energy ball. Nix muttered to a stumped Lily," Lily! Help the girl, for Merlin's sake! Stop the bloody bleeding. She isn't even whimpering anymore. Go! I will handle them!"

Lily was jolted out of her stupor and ran towards the bleeding girl. _God! This was a lot of blood. Okay okay..healing spell. Lets do this!_ Lily got busy trying to stop bleeding of this poor, tortured girl. She still couldn't tell who this unconscious girl was and what the hell did she do to deserve this? The girl's whole face was covered in bruises and puss, making it impossible to identify her. Well, except for the fact that she was wearing a Huffelpuff tie. So a Huffelpuff. These bastards did this to a _Huffelpuff_. _Pieces of shit_. Lily still had a clear view of what was happening with the seven maniacs and Nix, as she busied herself with healing the Huffelpuff.

"That attempt was sad. Honestly, I expected more from the sacred purebloods like yourself. Has your blood purity not given you enough power? Isn't this your audition for Voldemort (gasps came from everyone in the room)? He is going to be so disappointed. I mean, are you guys really the best shot Voldy has got? Well, he is screwed then.", Nix said jovially as if this wasn't a life and death situation but rather a friendly duel you have with your brother for entertainment.

"You will speak of the Dark Lord with respect, you silly arse girl! I am going to teach you arrogant blood traitors a lesson. Starting with you!", Bellatrix again cast a spell which Nix again deflected with a lazy flick and smiled merrily.  _Merlin, she really was related to Dumbledore. It looked like he was here, not Nix._ Her relaxed pose, the ease with which she was slowly directly the group away from injured party, all the while smiling and casually taunting the lunatics, was what she has read Dumbledore is in a fight.

The said lunatics around Bellatrix unfroze from their stupor and raised their wand as one at Nix. Lily felt fear grip her heart, but she continued to heal the girl because Nix was right, this girl was barely holding on. Nix looked at Lily, who shook her head. Nix smiled reassuringly at Lily. Lily tensed but decided to trust her friend's instinct and watch her back. It would be like the Slytherins to attack from the behind. They weren't known for their chivalry. 

As if Nix's smile was the signal the seven were waiting for, they as one hurled seven spells at Nix. The spells were all of varied color and air reeked of dark magic. Lily wanted to run to help Nix but she panicked when she couldn't find pulse of the unconscious girl.  _Its there! Its there! She isn't dead. But the pulse is very low!_ Lily increased her efforts in healing the girl, while keeping an eye out for Nix. 

Nix, still smiling, flicked her wand and the three statues on the wall around them jumped to life. Bellatrix and party screamed and scattered, when the centaur statue charged towards them suddenly.

One solider statue came and stood in front of Lily and the girl, while one giant statue took the spells hurled at Nix and his top half blew off. The centaur had run off Bulstrode, Avery and Carrow twins. The Lestrange brothers and Bellatrix still remained in the hunt. But now, who was being hunted was a question. Nix smiled again. 

Bella screamed at top of her lungs,"Crucio!" Nix levitated the stone and it took the spell and blasted from the impact. Nix grinned again. Lily was getting scared for her friend. They were using the unforgivable spells. Everyone knew about them, what with rising death eaters attacks on the wizarding and muggle communities alike. If they were using unforgivable spells so nonchalantly, then there was no saying what they would resort to.  _God! Please let Nix be okay! The Marauders would destroy the universe, otherwise. And James won't survive it._

"Fight you, bloody Gryffindor! Lets settle this for once and all!", Bellatrix seethed. The brothers stood on either side of her. Ruffle yelled "stupefy!" at her, which she deflected again. 

Nix had a glint in her eyes,"Lets go, then!" Next what happened was all a blur! Nix was a beauty to watch. Why was this not a spectator sport? Because Merlin be praise! This was amazing! Nix movement's were so effortless and so calm. She was not even attacking them, simply deflecting their spells or absorbing it in her circular magical shield thing. Bellatrix and Lestranges were sweating and cursing profusely. They looked tired, frustrated and pissed off. While Nix looked like she just had a hearty breakfast after a wonderful long sleep.

Bellatrix then yelled," AVADA KEDAVARA!". A bright green light flew towards Nix. Nix ducked away from it and for first time her eyes lost the twinkle and she became serious. "Okay. Play time is over!", Nix said calmly but there was a chill in her voice that was absent before. It really felt like she was indulging them before. Nix, in rapid succession, threw spells at all three of them.

"Cruc..", Rudolph Lestrange shrieked as trees, which magically appeared from ground, wrapped around him and started to drag him inside the floor like quick sand. His wand was expelled from his hand and he kept drowning in the floor till only his face above his mouth was visible. His eyes were panicky and he tried to look up for help.

Even if he could have asked for help, it would have been of no use. Because the others were drowning under the on slaughter of Nix's spells. Bellatrix was hit by a spell which covered her face with a bag and next one expelled her wand from her hand. Either the bag was trying to prevent her from seeing or from breathing, Lily couldn't be sure. 

"Sectumsempra!", Ruffle yelled but it was absorbed by Nix's shield and she fired three spells in succession at Ruffle. His teeth started to grow as did his hair at rapid rate. In his distraction of reversing the spell, he didn't block the third one. 

Ruffle Lestrange wand broke in his hand and his anguished cry over his loss echoed throughout the corridor. He jumped and grabbed his brother's wand and yelled "Avada Kedavara!"at Nix, who rolled on the floor to avoid it. Nix looked at Ruffle critically and hit him with a spell. He disintegrated in front of her eyes into ash. Bellatrix was still fighting the bag over her head. 

Nix told Lily calmly ( _How was she still so chilled and calm? There wasn't even a sweat on her forehead!)_ ,"Use  _posuit imperium_ for healing the pus and  _Vulnera Sanentur_ for healing heavy bleeding. Then use  _Ferula_ to bind her arm."

By this time, the four who have been chased away by the centaur statue came back, looking battered and pissed off. The four as one yelled," Crucio!" at Nix who summoned a stone from the shattered giant status and it took the hit. Nix tutted as the stone exploded from impact.

Nix hit the Carrow twins with identical looking spells that had them both in a trance like situation. They both started to scream to get it off. What 'it' was, who knew? They screamed running away from 'it' with their arm splaying and eyes looking to pop out. They collided with each other hard enough to knock each other out.

Avery, who watching Carrow twins in bewilderment, was hit with stupify spell and fell down. Bulstrode had freed Bellatrix of the bag and now they faced her with murderous expression. Nix looked amused. _Merlin! They would kill her for looking so amused!_  

"Sectumsempra!", Bulstrode screamed at same time as Bellatrix screamed,"Crucio!". They both hit the spells at such an angle that Nix couldn't dodge or roll on the ground without being hit by one of them. Nix stood still as the two spells came hurling after her and pointed her wand on the ground and then behind her. Then stood waiting for the spells to hit her. _What was she doing?_ Lily knew better than to disturb Nix at such a crucial time. Lily checked on the girl. Nix's spells seems to have worked better, the girl had some color back on her face. Her breathing was a bit labored but better than before.  _Where was everyone? Damn it!_  

Just as the spells were about to hit Nix, she jumped up and the floor like a trampoline gave her the extra force to jump high. _Oh, she used the rubber spell. Smart_. She held onto the chandelier. Bellatrix and Bulstrode looked dumbfounded but then shrieked as their own spells came bouncing back after hitting the wall, at them with additional force. They somehow managed to avoid being hit. 

In meantime, Nix had glided down somehow. Both Bellatrix and Bulstrode fired spells at her. Honestly their expression spewed more fire than their freaking spells. Nix used a protective shield in front of her to avoid being hit. This shield looked different. It almost looked like those curved mirrors in the circus. The spells bounced back after hitting the protection shield thing and the two ducked and then grinned triumphantly at Nix. Except Nix grinned wider.

It looks like while Bellatrix and Bulstrode were busy shrieking to avoid their own rebounding spells, Nix had, in the meantime, created same circus protection shield behind them. The spells rebounced back after hitting the mirror towards their owners while they were busy gloating at Nix. The spells hit squarely back at their owners. They screamed in agony but gritted their teeth and yelled "Avada Kedavara!" at Lily and the girl instead. Lily held her wand out, ready to defend them, but the solider statue took the spells and blasted upon impact.

Nix looked furious and as if she was caught in a haze, she hurled spells after spells on the two of them and Avery, who had managed to counter his stupefy. The four of them were throwing spells without pause at each other. The area reeked of dark spell. Despite all odds being stacked against Nix, she was winning.

The three were covered in cuts, blood and were wincing in pain. Several of their body parts were in awkward angle or had limited movement. They were panting and looked ready to drop down. Nix, on the other hand, was relatively unhurt. She had a cut on her arm but other than that she looked fine. She was breathing hard and there was a fire in her eyes which somehow made Lily feel safe. 

Avery collapsed followed by Bulstrode and then Bellatrix. Nix had her wand aimed at them. She still seem to stuck in whatever haze she had gotten herself in. They heard sound of several footsteps running towards them.  _Thank God! They were safe! It was gong to be fine! They did it! Nix defied logic and managed to defeat seven Slytherins, hell bent on killing her, like it was a piece of cake._  

"Nix, No! STOP! STOP!!!", James panicked voice seemed to have penetrated the haze Nix was in. Nix looked rattled at seeing the result of their conflict and swayed a little. Lily breathed in , relief when she saw Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Professor Scamandar along with the Marauders. Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick were coming as well. It was over. The girl would live!

James caught his swaying twin by the shoulder and supported her by standing behind her. "Its okay! Its okay! You did good! You defeated them! They are all still alive! You are fine! Lily and that girl are fine too! You were fantastic I am so proud of you!", James muttered it to Nix and kissed her cheeks. Nix sagged against James and smiled softly.  

Sirius was looking murderously at Bellatrix collapsed battered form, like he was wishing to wake her just to beat her senseless again. Remus looked uncharacteristically serious too. He was looking at Nix bloody arm with concern. Sirius followed Remus eye line, _did I say he looked murderous before, nah.. that was a gentle anger_ , because the look he had now....it would be better if Bellatrix disappeared than face the anger that  was swirling in Sirius right now.

"Calm down Sirius. She is hurt enough, as it is.", Nix whispered softly. Sirius eyes snapped to her and he held her bleeding arm out. "Its just a scratch. I was more badly injured in quidditch match than this. I am just tired. Moony, got some chocolate on you?"

Remus frantically searched his pocket and cheered when he found half eaten chocolate bar. Nix chuckled. The boys visibly relaxed at that. Professor Dumbledore came forward and tapped his wand on Nix's arm and it was healed. 

"My pirate, you did amazing. Maybe we two should have a duel someday. Because seeing their condition, it looks like it would be fun!", Professor Dumbledore said merrily. Nix grinned as she stuffed her mouth with chocolate.

A thought stuck to her brain. _Her best friend could have died today. This girl who was barely holding on could have died too. Merlin! I could have died!_ Lily didn't realize she was shaking. Professor McGonagall put a reassuring arm on her and squatted down to her level. 

"We wanted to go star gazing because Marl wanted to see them. We heard this girl's pleading and tortured scream. When..when we came here, these seven had tortured her to point of death. She was blee...bleeding everywhere. She had pus oozing out of her. Her arm was broken and at awkward angle. These seven were standing there and taking  _pleasure_ at seeing her moan in pain and die a slow painful death!" Lily voice was steadily getting louder.

"Marl ran to get you guys and Nix engaged them in duel, while I tried to save this girl somehow. I used healing spell, pus control spell, bone splintering spell, another spell for heavy bleeding. I did everything I could. Nix was not really attacking them even when they were hurling unforgivable spells and killing spells constantly at her. She deflected them till Bellatrix and Bulstrode aimed killing curse at us. Then Nix started to attack as well. She isn't responsible for all this. They are..", Lily said as tears dropped down her face.

"I know, Lily. You two were very brave. You did good. This girl will live. Come on, come with me to the infirmary. You can help Madam Pomfrey with details about what you administered to the girl so that she can heal her faster. You did good, Lily!", Professor McGonagall spoke softly and hugged her. Lily nodded and got up.

"The unforgivable spells?", a pale Remus murmured, like he couldn't believe it. He touched Nix arm as if to ascertain she was still here.  

"Killing spells?", James asked as he drew Nix closer to him and putting an arm around her protectively.

"I am going to murder her!", Sirius thundered. Remus looked ready to join him in it. 

"Stop! You three! She will go to Azkaban! That would be a better punishment than killing her!", Nix said with steel. The boys seemed to have been placated by that thought. Even if they engulfed her in a group hug, desperately. 

Professor Dumbledore looked at Bellatrix with rage in his eyes that seemed to have taken, even, Professor McGonagall back. "Albus!", Professor McGonagall said in warning. Professor Dumbledore breathed deeply and Lily could again see the gentle headmaster. 

"Professors if you would take the injured parties to the infirmary. Theseus, call Alastor Moody and inform him of what has happened. Tell him to get in here. Make sure no one talks to them till I come in. Pomona, help heal the girl and find out who she is and inform me. I need to contact her family. Filius and Minerva, ensure that the perpetrators don't escape but get them healed as well. Horace help Madam Pomfrey in the recovery process. Miss Evans and Miss Mckinnon, please provide with whatever details you can. The rest of us will follow you in a while.", Professor Dumbledore said gravely.

Professor McGonagall brought Ruffle back from ash and stupefied him. The Professors placed each student on the stretcher and took them away. Professor McGonagall steered Lily and Marl away from the fight zone. The last glimpse she had was of James, Nix and Professor Dumbledore looking at a spot on the floor with grim faces.

* * *

James was feeling uneasy and it had nothing to do with his itchy healed collarbone. He was avoiding Ava for the time being by sitting at his house table. He was pretending not to understand the insinuation behind her invitation to the join her at her house table. He was sure that they would have done more than make out later, if he had joined her. But he was tired and wanted to celebrate the House cup victory with his housemates and his sister. 

Ava was nice and all but sometimes, she didn't understand that he had more important things to do that spend time snogging her. Something has been nagging him since morning, he couldn't put a finger on it. That feeling made him want to be close to Nix right now, more than err...pleasure he might have with his girlfriend. Ava was pissed that he brushed her snogging attempt twice already, one when they were entering Great Hall (he was getting congratulated by his housemates) and another when his sister was getting checked in hospital wing. But his sister was being an idiot and stating that the boys should get checked first. _Yeah, right!_  

He would make up with Ava later, at that time he needed to make sure his stubborn sister was injury free and was treated properly. How was he supposed to know how badly they needed to prank the Slytherin quidditch team for hitting his sister twice? He and Sirius were a fair game but his sister was off limits. If she was hit while in pursuit of snitch that was fair but otherwise, no. It was quidditch informal rule, you don't hit the seekers unless they are in play. Game becomes pointless otherwise. Those despos broke the rule, so they would pay. They would have paid, anyways, for hurting his baby sister.

Thankfully, it was only bruising, which was cured soon enough, but James knew from experience that it must have hurt like a bitch. He hated the fact that she played in pain for most of the game. _Hypocrite!_  That sounded suspiciously like Nix. Well, she wasn't wrong. He was so used to protecting her that he can't help it anymore. It is ingrained in his DNA now. The fear of losing her has made him overbearingly protective. He knows that. But he can't stop it. It is his duty to make sure his sister is okay. Before the amulet incident, he used to let her be. He was protective but he would not hover so much. He was trying to tone it down but...she was his little sister and his responsibility. Like hell, he would let anything befall her!

Where was she, anyways? How much stars could the girls gaze? His uneasiness was not subsiding. In fact, it was increasing. It was not his general separation anxiety that was kicking in, but a bad feeling was curling around his heart. Where is she? He looked at Sirius, who was also looking at the door with a frown. Remus rolled his eyes at both of them. No doubt, judging them for being so overprotective. Remus, often, said that we two were overprotective for the girl who could protect us all without breaking a sweat. He was right, of course he was, he was Moony. That didn't stop the two of them from hovering and being concerned.

The team has been waiting for a while now. James suddenly, for no reason, got a sharp panic in his heart followed by determination. Before he could focus on it, the Gryffindors started to chant and celebrate like rowdy bunch they were famous for. He ignored his feelings for the time being, as he immersed himself in celebration.

Suddenly, Marlene came bursting through the door. She was out of breath and was sweating like crazy, but what gave him pause was her panicky expression. She ran straight to them and managed to get out,"Nix, Lily ...on....bloody hell.. floor..west tower...Merlin .." She paused to take a breath. James took her to a side. Sirius and Remus followed them. No one else gave them much attention, they all were busy in celebration. 

Did Nix have a vision? Is she in danger? In pain? Damn it! He knew he should have gone with her! He felt his twin's determination and amusement. What was going on? She wasn't in pain, at least. But, Marlene's state made it clear that something was definitely wrong. He knew his sister could tackle anything, but what if it was the snake? What if it had attacked her? Or what if she saw Snivellus with his hair shampooed?

"Nix and Lily are on the top floor of West tower protecting a sixth/seventh year old girl, who was being tortured by seven Slytherins. Bellatrix is one of them! We need to help!", Marlene blurted it all out in one breath.

James got panicked and looked at G3, who was thankfully looking at him in concern. He nodded to the side and G3 nodded back. The boys ran and met G3 in the corridor. "There has been an attack! Nix and Lily are defending a girl from seven Slytherins on the top floor of the West Tower!", James said in panic as they ran through the corridor towards the West tower.

"Remus, go back to the Great Hall through the teachers entry, password is 'ice chips', and get Professor Scamandar and the house heads. But make sure it is subtle. No need to cause panic. Go!", G3 told Remus, who ran back at full speed. Others increased their speed towards West tower. Within moments, they heard other Professors running behind them.

Sirius growled and James knew he was pissed that they can't change into their animagus form to run. It would be five times faster than their human form. _Bloody hell!_ James felt an anger filter through him and he freaked out.  _Merlin! Nix was angry! Like I will murder you angry! Shit!_ She hardly gets angry but when she does, its freaky as hell; and in a duel, she might loose herself. James increased his speed and Remus caught up to them, damn him that his wolfish strength didn't vanish when he was human! Okay he was being mean but his breathing was getting labored now and Remus looked like he was on stroll or something! 

He saw Nix standing in front of them and yup, she was mad. She was hurling spells at the three Slytherins, definitely NEWTS level students, at ridiculously high speed. The three, James saw with pride bursting through his chest, looked ready to collapse. They all seemed to have sustained several injuries. They were covered in blood, sweat and dislocated joints. He was worried if Nix was hurt too. But she looked fine from a distance. Then the three fighting against her collapsed one after another.  

Nix, looking terrifyingly angry yet calm, was pointing her wand at the fallen offenders. He needed to pull her out of this or she would do something she would regret later. They were close enough but not that close that he could physically shake her zone off. He needed to...umm..yell..yes...he needed to yell to get her attention.

"Nix, No! STOP! STOP!!!", James yelled to get something through his twin. He felt happy that she seemed to have come out of her zone. He saw as Nix flinched seeing the state of the three on the ground. Then she looked around and her eyes widen in surprise. He was surprised too. The Carrow twins were knocked out; there was a pile of ash on the floor. And, was that Rudolph buried in the floor? The unknown girl, who seemed to be in a bad shape, and Lily, who was unharmed, were in a corner behind a solider statue. 

He was alarmed as Nix swayed a bit. Was her adrenaline running out? Was she injured and just realizing it? Knowing her, it was a highly probable. Was she hit with some horrible dark curse? Hex? What happened here? He knew he should have stayed with her.  _Damn it!_ James rushed towards her. He caught his swaying twin by the shoulder and supported her by standing behind her. He started to mutter useless reassuring things to his half.

"Its okay! Its okay! You did good! You defeated them! They are all still alive! You are fine! Lily and that girl are fine too! You were fantastic! I am so proud of you!", James muttered it to Nix and kissed her cheeks. He was so damn proud! His sister took on five NEWTs and OWLs level (he discarded the Carrows, they were fools anyways) wizards without a scratch while saving another person at the same time. _Yeah, he knows it was probably Lily who did most of the saving part but still. His sister!_

Nix sagged against him but smiled softly. She was staring at the Lily and the girl. He knew she felt happier about the fact that the girl would be fine and Lily would leave the fight zone without a scratch, than by the fact that she defeated seven wizards alone at once. Lily looked a bit rattled. He supposes this is her first encounter with crazy arse pureblood maniacs. Not that James has ever battled them before, but he had several encounters with them during galas and dinners to know their nastiness can take you by surprise. It seems like Lily can hold a nerve in tense situation, alright! She looked absolutely beautiful...err..he meant safe and unhurt. _Y_ _ou have a girlfriend, you arse, who is not Lily._ James breathed in deeply. _His sister was fine! Lily was fine!_ He can deal with the rest. 

"Calm down Sirius. She is hurt enough, as it is.", Nix whispered softly. James was startled when a really, really angry Sirius strode forward and lifting his little sister's bloody arm. James felt guilt take over him. How was that he standing here and had not notice that she was injured? Was he so lost in own relief that she was alive that he didn't even take time to see if she was hurt? _Stupid, stupid._ What if the cut is deep and that is why she was swaying? Damn it!

"Its just a scratch. I was more badly injured in quidditch match than this. I am just tired. Moony, got some chocolate on you?", Nix said softly. He didn't detect any pain in her voice. So it must be just a scratch. Right? A cutting spell must have grazed her. But how did he still not see the blood dripping down her arm? He needs to be a better brother!

James didn't know he was waiting for some sign from her to tell him irrevocably that she was fine. Hearing her chuckle made him relaxed. She was fine! There wasn't any horrible dark curse poisoning her, just a scratch. G3 came forward and tapped his wand on Nix's arm and healed it. He looked relieved to see her safe as well. He has to say his G3 would give him a run at fitness level. He looked barely ruffled after all that running. Of course, that could be because he was skating, instead of running. But still!  

"My pirate, you did amazing. Maybe we two should have a duel someday. Seeing your opponents' condition, it looks like it would be fun!", G3 said merrily, even if his eyes were concerned. Nix grinned as she stuffed her mouth with chocolate. The marauders grinned too. She was fine. Suddenly, Lily's soft shaky voice caught their attention.

"We wanted to go star gazing because Marl wanted to see them. We heard this girl's pleading and tortured scream. When..when we came here, these seven had tortured her to point of death. She was blee...bleeding everywhere. She had pus oozing out of her. Her arm was broken and at awkward angle. These seven were standing there and taking  _pleasure_ at seeing her moan in pain and die a slow painful death!" Lily voice was steadily getting louder.

"Marl ran to get you guys and Nix engaged them in duel, while I tried to save this girl somehow. I used healing spell, pus control spell, bone splintering spell, another spell for heavy bleeding. I did everything I could. Nix was not really attacking them even when they were hurling unforgivable spells and killing spells constantly at her. She deflected them till Bellatrix and Bulstrode aimed killing curse at us. Then Nix started to attack as well. She isn't responsible for all this. They are..", Lily said as tears dropped down her face.

"I know, Lily. You two were very brave. You did good. This girl will live. Come on, come with me to the infirmary. You can help Madam Pomfrey with details about what you administered to the girl so that she can heal her faster. You did good, Lily!", Aunt Minnie said softly and hugged her. Lily nodded and got up.

"The unforgivable spells?", a pale Remus murmured, like he couldn't believe it. He touched Nix arm as if to ascertain she was still here. James could detect anger in his murmur, the one he got when his wolf was taking over. 

"Killing spells?", James asked as he drew Nix closer to him and putting an arm around her protectively. He was close to losing her. _No! No! I won't let her out of my arms ever. She is never going anywhere alone again. She could have.... she could... His sister... no.. absolutely not!_

"I am going to murder her!", Sirius thundered and made his way towards Bella. Remus looked ready to join him in it. James would have lead them there, if he still wasn't supporting his amazing, loving, brave sister.

"Stop! You three! She will go to Azkaban! That would be a better punishment than killing her.", Nix said in a voice that carried a warning to not cross her right now. She was right. Bella would suffer more in Azkaban than by anything they could do to her. Anything more, anyhow. Nix had made her and the rest of the gang pass out because pain and exhaustion. He hoped Bella suffered for as long as was humanely possible.

Yet, Bella could have killed her and ....they all as one engulfed her in a group hug, desperately. She hugged them back equally fiercely. They pulled apart and she smiled her amazing smile and James felt his lips responding in kind. He looked at Sirius and inwardly groaned. Great! They were going to make out on Sirius's bed tonight. And by the intensity of Sirius's look, it was going to be all night and he can't say anything against it! Why did he start dating again? Oh yeah, because of....reasons. Moving on. He had to have a brother-in-law who was always horny. Well, it could be worse. At least, Sirius was horny only for Nix. He would have hexed Sirius's junk off, if he ever cheated on Nix. Since, that was not possible in their case, so... Fine he will tolerate their make out sessions to keep her happy!  

Aunt Minnie's hard voice,"Albus!" made them look at G3, who glaring furiously at the seven fallen, but reined it in. After giving instructions to everyone, G3 turned around and froze slightly. James and Nix turned to look what troubled G3; and they froze too. The magical snake was slithering towards them. James held his sister in protective stance and the snake snarled at him. Nix held her hand up to it and it stopped obediently. _Huh?_

"Jamie, its time. You all need to leave.", Nix said calmly.  _No. Absolutely not!_ He was not leaving his sister in situation like this. "Jamie, I will be fine! Look at me!"

James tears filled eyes looked at Nix's calm ones. Nix gently held his face in her hands and said softly,"You can't help me, if you are hurt too! I need you to be okay. Who will take care of me, when I come out of it? Jamie, I love you, but you need to move away from danger zone. Go on, stand behind the solider guard. Please!", Nix pleaded by the end of it. 

James felt himself nodding mechanically and started to slowly walk away. Then he rushed back and hugged his twin tightly and kissed her forehead, whispered,"I love you too. Please come back! I...I won't ..just come back, okay?" James knew he was crying but he was past the point of caring. Nix nodded with a smile. James turned around and walked away from his sister who was in danger. His feet felt they were made of lead, he can't do this. _He can't do this. He can't do this..._

Sirius and Remus, both pale and pinched lipped, each, took hold of one of his hand, and walked towards the solider, together. G3 looked to be debating himself about leaving Nix alone, as well. This was it. They would know for sure. If it is a curse or a blessing in disguise? If his sister would save the world or ..not survive...no she will live and save the world. He turned around and in slow motion watched the snake come closer to his sister.

Nix was standing tall and proud, staring down the snake. The snake was snarling and spewing poison but his brave sister was looking at it as if she was bored. The snake stood at her height and hissed. He slowly started to warp himself around her, like a freaking python does with its prey. James started to shake and his brothers tightened their hold on his hand harder. He knew they can't see what is happening, but this was not how he imagined this would happen. He didn't think the snake would want to eat her!

Once Nix, whole body was wrapped by the snake, the magical snake started to pulsate. His head was a feet high above Nix head, who looked unimpressed. The magical snake opened his mouth wide and went for Nix's head. Magic burst out of his body and the whole area exploded with energy. They all staggered back as Nix was covered in green-black magical bubble. Nix seems to be drawing in the magic into her body as the green-black bubble whirled around her. 

Suddenly, pain flashed through him and Nix screamed! This scream reminded him of that horrid amulet incident. James didn't realize that Sirius was body blocking him from rushing towards Nix, till he didn't seem to be unable to move. Sirius was crying (his eyes were bloodshot) but he was stopping James, instead of running to help Nix with James. That only meant one thing. Nix had made Sirius promise to not let James be involved in it, no matter what! Another pain worse than before, flashed through James and he didn't give a damn what she wanted! She was in serious pain. He was going to help her! 

Remus joined Sirius in holding James back. James knew he was yelling something but all his energy was focused on breaking their stranglehold on him. He couldn't break through as Nix kept screaming. Suddenly, the magic ball expanded and then collapsed on Nix, who paused mid-scream and fell down on the floor, face first, like she was made of bag of stones. 

Sirius and Remus went limp and turned around in horror. James ran towards his twin and ignored the silence in his heart and sorrow that was threatening to drown him. No.. no.. she can't... she can't... please... please... he would do anything... anything... pleasee.... you promised... you promised... you.... please... don't.... don't... come back...

He reached her still, pale form and dropped down on his knees. He gently turned her around. There was a gash on her head, from fall, that was bleeding. There were no other visible injury on her. Her eyes were closed and... his heart stopped... because no... no... no... NO!

"She is not breathing! She is not breathing! G3!!! DO SOMETHING!! SHE IS NOT BREATHING!!! DO SOMETHING!!!", James yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Quote from Spaceballs  
> A question: If you were to imagine Cissy wedding, what sort of wedding dress do you envision for her? I have options, but I am confused. It would be classy for sure but Cinderella gown, old ball gown or modern gown with/without bling? Ideas?  
> How was the fight scene?  
> How was the chapter?  
> Check out my other story on Sirius/Harry(female)-time travel AU.


	36. Interlude

_"She is not breathing! She is not breathing! G3!!! DO SOMETHING!! SHE IS NOT BREATHING!!! DO SOMETHING!!!", James yelled._

Those words rang into Remus's brain and he froze as he watched his very pale best friend frantically shake his twin muttering 'you promised' again and again. Remus heard a thud and looked sideways. His heart bled for Sirius. The pain, hopelessness and despair which he was displaying were frightening. His eyes, which were always playful and intense, looked dead, as if something in him has died along with....  _No... she can't... she can't... she...._ Remus broke down into sobs. 

Remus heard Dumbledore voice, as if coming from a tunnel, say,"James, I think she is alive!"

Everyone whipped their heads towards Dumbledore. They all looked incredulously at Dumbledore, who was smiling now. Sirius seemed to be getting some hope back in his eyes, as was Remus. Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of their time. He knew more about magic than anyone. Maybe it was part of the magic or curse or whatever. Maybe he was right. He has yet to hear an instance when Dumbledore was wrong. James doused water all over their hope.

James said coldly,"She is not breathing. HOW CAN SHE BE ALIVE?!". He was shaking, whether in anger or grief, Remus wasn't sure. He thinks James was trying desperately not to drown in sorrow that was threatening to take him.

"I still can't enter the arena because  _her_ magic is blocking me. If she were dead, the magic would have stopped working too. I think she is alive!", Dumbledore explained gently, pointing to the magic barrier. Dumbledore was right. Remus tried to cross the magical line, only to be stopped.

James's eyes widen and his face started to gain some color. He placed his ear on her chest. Everyone held their breath in hope. Remus was praying to whoever was up there, to let there be a heartbeat! This can't be how she dies. She needs to live to see her brother make a fool of himself trying to get Lily; she needs to make many pretty and ridiculously brilliant children with Sirius; she needs to dazzle the world with her brilliance; and she needs to see him make his way through the world. He needs her to come through because she is his sister and his friend. If she is gone, everything will change and he didn't want to live in world where Phoenix Potter wasn't present.

James was quiet with his eyes closed as he tried to listen to his sister heartbeat. A very lovely smile slowly spread on his face and Remus breathed for what felt like the first time. Sirius and Dumbledore did the same. Just then, Nix took a deep breath and whimpered a bit, but then fell into what looked like deep sleep. 

James looked torn between shouting in relief or crying in joy. He started to laugh, hugging his sister close to his chest, muttering into her hair 'Thank Merlin! You didn't leave me! You kept your promise! Thank you for not dying on me...'

Sirius had his hands covering his face, as he cried in pure happiness and relief. Remus thought that if he felt like life was sucked out of him for that brief moment, James and Sirius must felt sucker punched by such an experience. He wondered how this will change them. Sirius gathered himself and got up to go near his soulmate. Only to find himself still being bared by the magical barrier. He looked, confused, at Dumbledore, who smiled knowingly.

"She put the barrier to prevent anyone, that is not her, from entering the arena while she went through the process. She didn't want anyone else hurt by it.", Dumbledore explained as he watched the twins with fondness and satisfaction. He looked younger by years. It looked as if years of burden has been lifted from his shoulder, now that Nix has survived the final effect of curse.

Remus thought ideally, as he watched James wandlessly heal his twin's forehead gash, that Dumbledore must have been under a lot of strain from trying to prevent his grand daughter from losing her child. From everything Remus has seen and noticed in past three years, Dumbledore was awfully fond of the twins. It looked like they filled his heart with joy that had been missing for years. He has noticed how Dumbledore's eyes lost more and more joy as Nix suffered more and more under the 'visions'. Now that she has survived the final battle, the unknown threat was over, hopefully. Remus was sure that Dumbledore would do everything to save Nix from a known enemy. Unknown enemy was always a higher threat. No one knew its actual threat potential, till it blindsides you with an attack. 

Sirius asked rudely,"Why can't we get in, when James flew through the freaking barrier?". Sirius looked impatiently and desperately at his soulmate. He was glaring at the barrier, as if willing it to allow him to go through. The need to be next to Nix must have been all consuming in Sirius, after everything that has happened. 

Dumbledore smiled and twinkle came back in his eyes. He said," Sirius, James is her twin. Practically, her half. They are connected through souls. Their bond was developed since birth and is stronger. The longer the bond is, stronger it gets. (He frowned, very minutely) Now, I know you are her soulmate, but till you bond, magic doesn't see you two as one. As your souls are still apart, and not bonded yet. So you can't pass through. I think that was the reason, my astute great grand daughter made you two stop James from running towards her. She couldn't have stopped him, if he decided to cross the barrier. Her magic was powerless against him. Then, we would have to admit not one but two of them to hospital wing. James, son, bring Nix out. Lets get her checked by Madam Pomfrey. Come on, then!"

Saying that Dumbledore turned and walked away. James came out of the barrier, carrying Nix, in bridal style, who looked deep asleep. Sirius took hold of her hand and breathed in relief when she breathed. Tears of relief and joy started to flow again from the three of them as walked towards the infirmary. They gathered themselves as they trekked through the castle.

This had been close. Remus never wanted it to be this close, ever again. Life without her had looked very bleak. Because he won't have just lost Nix, he would have lost James and Sirius too. _Well, I can do everything in my power to make sure it never comes this close again. Never mind the cost. They are worth everything._

Remus was very glad that she kept her promise to James and came back. He knew her body must be resting after combined strain from the amulet magic and the duel she won. He wasn't sure that the darkness and despair, which would have enveloped James and Sirius, could have been defeated by anyone. They would have lost their essence. Nix was integral part of them. She was Sirius's heart and James's half. The world wouldn't have survived the anger these two powerful wizards would have unleashed on it.

Sirius and James, were both easy going lads, but when angered, they were merciless and, honestly, terrifying. They didn't possess the self restrain that Nix had. They hated and loved with all their heart. There was never a half way with them. Nix tried to be rational with everyone. She knew her power. James was unaware of it, when he was angered. He almost hospitalized Ruffle Lestrange after the Valentine's day, when he caught him speak obscene things about Nix and what he would like to do to her.

Remus was sure if it was James in the fight, he would not have been on defense, rather on offense. His need to punish those who were bad and guilty was intense. And Sirius, well, Sirius didn't care twice about those he didn't love. Bellatrix, definitely, fell in that category. Remus thinks Sirius might have enjoyed torturing her. 

 _You wouldn't have gotten mad and let the wolf out, huh?_ His conscious taunted him. He ... Yeah...the wolf would been out to rip apart anyone who dared to hurt his sister. His anger at seeing Nix slightly hurt had been unsettling. Remus knew he was the calmest, kindest and most easy going among the four. But seeing the blood drip down Nix's arm had made him angry enough to want to let the wolf have a go at those absolute fuckers, who preyed on the weak. He would have liked to see them face off a bloody murderous werewolf. Then let's see, how much they like dark side of magic. _Sadists!_ Only there was no one to let the wolf loose on. Nix had taken care of them, splendidly.

Merlin, he was so damn proud of her. He knew she was brilliantly talented and crazy powerful. The twins have often talked about dueling for fun at home. Their dad was a top duelist and, often said, that it would be a shame if his children weren't as well. Remus didn't know if the amazing duel capabilities were a result of their fun practice or her sheer talent. It could be either or both.

Nix had not only successfully managed to fight off seven Slytherins of NEWTS and OWLs level easily, but she did all that while staying, mostly, on defense. What would have been the condition of all pureblood maniacs, if these idjits had managed to piss her off earlier? Now, he wished he was there to see Nix wipe the floor off with seven students. Not just any students, but those who were notorious for their powerful and dark magical skills. He knew she was a powerful witch but to be so powerful, already.

_Man! These twins would take over the world. It was well for the world that they were on the Light's side, or else hell would have reigned in. With Sirius on their side, Voldemort would have faded in contrast to the combined force of their madness. There would be no stopping them. They would have bent the world the way they liked. They were, already, doing that._

Remus looked at James, who was staring fondly at his sleeping sister, as was Sirius. They smiled at each other. Remus was happy that what happened earlier did not cause any strain in their legendary bromance, as Nix called it. Remus knew that whatever James saw just before the magic burst, had him so freaked out that their combined strength was proving to be useless in front of his frantic need to get to his twin. Remus shuddered as he remembered.

Remus saw a calm Nix put her hand forward in a stop sign to air and extremely tensed Dumbledore and James looked shell shocked.  _Oh, the magical snake must be here. Wait, if it was interacting with Nix that meant..shit...it meant that it was time._ Remus watched as Nix tried to get her teary eyed brother away from harm zone. Sirius was pale and his hands were trembling. Dumbledore was analyzing the floor in interest but Remus noticed his hands were shaking as well. 

Nix was the only one who was calm and composed.  _How is it that the girl they were supposed to provide comfort to, was the one providing them comfort?_ James, pale and shaken, started to walk slowly back. His whole frame was shaking. 

"Remember the promise. Please,  _please,_ stay away from the magical orb. No matter what!", Nix said to both of them. Remus nodded and hugged her.

Just then James came rushing back. His plea to Nix, broke Remus's heart. His voice told Remus how much it was costing him to leave her in known danger. But James knew, he had to do this for her. James was ruffling and pulling his hair in despair, as he walked away. Remus made to move towards James but paused, when Sirius refused to budge from his place. 

Nix looked back and frowned at whatever was on the floor. She then pleaded with Sirius,"Sirius, you promised me on our love! Please..." 

Sirius kissed Nix desperately. It felt like he was trying to convince Nix to come with him or merge their bodies or try to delay the inevitable. Remus chocked back a sob. This all felt like a goodbye, instead of just an intermission. What if she doesn't make it? What will happen to these two black haired boys? Remus didn't think he or anyone else would be able to piece them back together. Sirius, somehow, managed to take steps away from his soulmate. It looked like it was tearing his soul apart. He looked so pained.

Remus heard Nix soft plea to Dumbledore, who was hugging her, "Keep them out of darkness. Okay?". His heart started to pound in panic. Did Nix not think she would survive this? Was there something she knew that they didn't? Apart from visions, of course. Is that why she is telling everyone to leave? What the hell is this curse going to do to her? For how long has she known about this? He pulled Sirius, who shaking worse than James, along and pointed to James. Sirius took a deep breath and gathered himself.

They each walked along either side of James, who was muttering 'I can't do this'. They needed to support James, who looked on verge of collapsing into pieces. It had felt like they couldn't do this either, but they needed to support Nix. And she needed them away from danger, so that's what they will do. Now that he thought about it, Nix had thought of everything. The only person Sirius would have put ahead of his own needs, apart from her, was James. Remus knew, hell everyone knew, that these two bonded on a level that was extraordinary. The only way to get through this ordeal for Sirius would be to make sure James makes it. And for Remus, it was to make sure that these two were safe. They were all, 'your needs above mine' kind of boys.  _Nix had really thought of everything._   

Remus watched on as Nix looked down unimpressed at the floor. James had started to tremble badly. Remus increased pressure on James's hand. Sirius half body blocked James, though Remus didn't think James knew about it. He was too busy staring in horror at Nix and whatever was unfolding. Remus looked at Dumbledore, who was also staring in horror and panic, as if he had realized something. 

Dumbledore made a move to get to Nix, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier. He looked at Nix, who turned her head slightly towards him and shook her head, minutely. Dumbledore took a deep breath and clasped his hands together, tightly. His eyes were blazing and tears were pouring down his eyes. Remus looked transfixed at Nix, who looked up as if looking at someone or something. Then she screamed. Magic burst and they were pushed back by its impact. Remus heard a body slam.

Remus turned around to see James trying desperately to reach Nix, but Sirius was body blocking him with all his strength. Sirius was crying profusely, but he wouldn't let James pass him through. James looked down and saw Sirius blocking him. Surprised James became more frantic as understanding dawned on his face. James became furious and used all his strength in breaking free from Sirius's iron clad grip. 

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! SHE IS IN PAIN! LET ME GO! I NEED TO...NO ...NIX...!", James kept yelling. Remus didn't think James knew what he was yelling, only worried about breaking free to reach his twin. Sirius was being pushed back, which was a feat in itself. Sirius was awfully powerful. Remus had only ever won against him because of his wolf strength. Remus joined forces with Sirius in keeping Nix's brother away from danger; and together they managed to push James back.

James was frantic. He doesn't think he has ever seen anyone this desperate or frantic as James was then. Every scream from Nix was piercing his heart but they had made a promise, and they will be damned not to follow it through. Just as they seemed to have gained some control over James, Nix stopped mid scream. And in a sickening silence, they heard a body drop. Remus shivered as the horror passed through him again.

The Marauders entered the Hospital wing. Dumbledore opened the door and led them through the hospital wing into a small room. There were four beds laid around in the room. Remus smiled in relief. He knew the three won't leave Nix alone for long, not after what has happened. It was good that they won't have to sneak in and out to be with her. Their luggage was there as well. A door was attached on the side. He assumed it led to the washroom.

"I figured, I should prevent your innovative attempts of sneaking in to be with her. Madam Pomfrey has agreed on the condition that you will not disturb her patients.", Dumbledore said merrily. 

James gently lowered his sister on the bed and kissed her forehead. Sirius still held on to her hand and sat on the bed, her face was aligned to his hips as he patted her hair in reverence. James took the other side. 

"Now then, I need you three to come out so that Madam Pomfrey can change and check her, without being bugged by us. Come on.", Dumbledore said as Madam Pomfrey burst into the room and threw them all out. 

Remus looked around and saw that all the beds were occupied. Lily was sleeping in one bed. The seven Slytherins were in others and the girl, who was Bertha Jenkins, was on the last one. She looked better than last time he saw her. She must have blurted some gossip to the seven and pissed them off. She was pretty and extremely dumb, with penchant for gossiping. Sometimes he thinks she was dumber than Crabbe, which is saying something.

"The girl, Bertha Jenkins, is doing well. The seven have been suspended from the school till boards members meet tomorrow. Your parents will be here tomorrow as well. I thought it would be best for everyone, if we gave her little time to recover. There will be trail by the ministry against the seven of them. Bertha, who had shared her story, has agreed to testify as has Lily and Marlene. If Nix wakes up before that, she would be one of the witnesses too. Bellatrix, Lestranges and Bulstrode could be facing life in Azkaban, especially since Crouch Sr is now in-charge of it. Carrows will be let off with easier sentences."

"As of now, we will tell everyone that Nix is tired and was hit with a curse than needs her to be in hospital for time being. No one other than us and Madam Pomfrey will know the truth. Okay?", Dumbledore finished. The three nodded.

Madam Pomfrey came out and said with a gentle smile," She is physically fine. No issue with her health. Her body is recuperating from the exhaustion. I think she would be awake in a couple of days." 

The four of them relaxed and smiled in relief. The Marauders went to change and sleep. James and Sirius slept on either side of Nix and Remus took the bed facing them.  _Thank you Magic, for not taking her away!_ Thinking this he went off to sleep.

* * *

Lily went to meet Nix, who was still in hospital as Madam Pomfrey had been unable to find a cure. The school has been buzzing with news of the most daring fight in recent Hogwarts years. Since the rest of them were unable, either arrested or in hospital wing, Lily was hounded by people everywhere. The only time no one dared to approach her was, when she was with Sev.

No one has seen hide or hair of the Marauders since the fight. The three boys have made the room allotted to Nix as their own. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors have crowned them Kings and Queen of their houses. Hufflepuffs were so grateful to Nix that everyday, someone would bring something made by them for the Marauders to eat in the hospital wing. The only reason, Hufflepuffs weren't camped out in or outside the room was because Madam Pomfrey had made it a rule that only two students were allowed for 10 minutes only. Apart from the boys, who camped in there.

Lily smiled as she thought how the boys were doing things to keep themselves in high spirit. She has walked in on Remus reading a book he liked to Nix; James and Sirius were often caught braiding her hair or just chatting to her about nothing in particular. James was once painting her nails in obnoxious neon color, which Lily knew Nix will love. Sirius brought, more like sneaked in, her favorite food in the hospital room, in hopes of waking her up. Remus was seen helping Madam Pomfrey deal with patients to pass time, sometimes James and Sirius joined him too. Regulus has been spending a lot of time there, too. She has seen Regulus have monologue conversations with Nix about various topics. 

Nix was hit by a curse from Bellatrix, which has pulled her slowly into deep sleep. Lily hadn't seen any spell hit Nix, apart from the cutting one. But the curses were flying at such high speed that it was impossible to detect if someone was hit. She apologized to James for not paying better attention or his sister could have gotten help earlier.

James brushed it off, saying," Trust me, no one could have done anything about it. Its a good thing that the curse was not a painful one. But she is fine and not in pain. I would know, if she were." 

James has said this more than a couple of times. Now that she thought about it, the twins have often said something to that effect, often. She had wondered why. She flushed as she remembered how she discovered about it. Sirius still gives her teasing looks every time James and she are in the same vicinity.  _Prat. It wasn't her fault that James was half naked and Wet, the first time she went to see Nix in her hospital room. So she couldn't remove her eyes from his bare chest, so what? As if Sirius doesn't ogle Nix every chance he gets. Hypocrite! Not that, what she feels for James is anything what Sirius feels for Nix, but...it had been embarrassing._

Sirius and Remus were playing wizarding chess. Reg was sleeping on one of the beds. Sirius was holding one of Nix's hand in his hand as he played the game. _How were they both still so sweet, when she was sleeping?_ Sirius would absently kiss the back of her hand while thinking about his next move. 

Lily started to blush furiously when her landed on recently showered, damp hair, bare chested James, who was lovingly combing Nix hair while humming some song. She willed her eyes to not ogle at James, but her body was not responding to her commands. Lily licked her lips as her eyes traveled James's chest up and down.  _Bloody hell! When has he gotten hot? I think I am breaking some unwritten rules by leering after my own best friend's brother. Control yourself!_ Lily, with great difficulty, managed to pry her eyes off James's chest. 

She flushed badly, when she was caught staring at James by Sirius, who was giving her a pointed look. She wondered how much she could blush before bursting into flames. She cleared her throat and Sirius grinned teasingly. Remus was stifling his smile too. James, unaware of what has happened, looked up and smiled his boyish smile, which made Lily blush even more. She was tomato red. Her eyes landed on Nix, who looked peaceful. 

"How is she?", Lily asked quietly. 

"She is fine. Her body is resting while Madam Pomfrey figures out the spell to reverse the spell Bella used.", James said softly. Sirius strengthened his hold on her hand. Mr and Mrs Potter came in, looking haggard and fearful. Lily, Remus, Regulus and Sirius left the room to give the family some privacy. She needed to divert attention of Sirius from her because she was sure he would be teasing her about what had happened earlier.

"Why does James keep saying that he would know? How would he? He is not a mind reader!", Lily asked.

"You can't read mind, Lily. You can gather few thoughts processed in the brain but you can't read mind like a book.", Sirius said absently as he tried to see what was happening inside Nix's room. Remus rolled his eyes and explained patiently to Lily,

"They are twins, Lily. In muggle world, if I remember correctly, twins are formed when embryo breaks into two parts. But in magical world, twins are born when the magical power of the embryo is so high that magic divides the embryo into two equal halves of same person/soul. The twins are connected from birth to each other. They can feel snippets of their other half's feelings, when the emotions are high. Transfer energy when needed, and it works brilliantly as a compass to find each other too. They didn't say they were each other's half in jest, they literally meant it. Alone the twins are above average but together they are exceptional.", Remus said.

"That's why giving birth to twins is considered such a big deal in wizarding world, especially pureblood ones. It is said that only really powerful witches and wizards are able to produce twins. As they grow older, twins' powers increases as they don't just have their own but their twin's support too. So say James was getting tired, Nix would be able to transfer some of her energy to him. They can't do it unless the other is exhausted beyond hope. My mother, often, rants that she should have given birth to twins, instead of the Potters and Weasleys. We are the pureblood supreme, after all. Stupid woman!", Sirius said, still looking inside the room. _How did he know what we were speaking, his full focus was on the room?_

"That's true. Albus Dumbledore and Grindelwald never had twins, but they are both awfully powerful. Of course, mother would say it was because they were both guys, it takes away something. Obviously, its nonsense. Its actually considered a very sad day when one of the twins die and another doesn't. It is said that where they felt their twin, they feel only darkness and emptiness. This has driven several surviving twins into depression and hardly, anyone can make them happy after that.", Regulus explained. They all looked at the twins in the room in wonder. 

It was three days and Sirius has yet to stop teasing her. _Annoying dolt!_ Lily smiled as Sev came into view. On their way towards Hospital Wing, Sev filled her in with gossips about Hogwarts that was heard in Slytherin house. Slytherins gossiped more than girls on Mom's television shows. Apparently, knowledge was power but all she heard from Sev were weird rumors and outrageous lies.

As they reached the Hospital wing, James came out, looking smart, and told his parents, "She is fine, mom. Go, eat something, will you? You haven't eaten anything since yesterday. I will get you if anything comes up. Now go, eat. Buttercup would be mad if she saw your condition."

Mrs Potter smiled lovingly and gave James a hug and kiss. She said teasingly,"Alright, alright! No need to chide me. That my job, young man!"

James rolled his eyes and said playfully," Everyone is young to you, ma!" 

Mrs Potter gently twisted James's ears and he whined playfully. Mr Potter laughed at the two and, then, took Mrs Potter for breakfast with a departing wink at James. James smiled happily at his parents and his smile grew as he saw her. Sirius called him from inside.

"Hey! Coming in Lily?", James asked jovially and then answered in louder voice to Sirius, "Coming, prat! Hold your horses!"

Sirius loud voice came back,"There are no horses here! Why would we get horses? Have you finally lost it, Prongs?" Lily laughed, as James slapped his head with his hand.

Remus voice floated over to them,"You muggle-unaware dufus! Its a muggle phrase. It means to keep patience, which you clearly don't possess."

"Oh, hush...I am a very patient man. I...", Sirius reply was shushed by Madam Promfrey. Lily and James grinned widely. Sev frowned.

"In a minute.", Lily answered James first question with a large smile.

"Potter.", Sev said in his usual crisp voice.  James tensed and looked at him in question.

"I really do hope, Phoenix makes it out okay.", Sev said sincerely. Both Lily and James looked at him shell shocked. But then James smiled and nodded. 

"Thank you, Snape. She should be fine and will wake up soon, hopefully.", James said cordially and went in.

Lily looked at Sev curiously. She has heard Snape talk about Nix a lot, but it was usually begrudging admiration or annoyance. This was new. Did he have a crush on her? That would be bad, Sirius would rip him apart. Sev ignored her teasing look and briskly said bye, before literally running away.  _This should be fun._

She entered the room and saw all four boys playing intense exploding snap. Lily went sat next to them. She laughed at their burnt eyebrows and antics for a while, before she remembered something. 

"Hey, Sirius? (Sirius hummed as he concentrated on the game) Did you know your father is trying to get the Lestranges and Bellatrix out of the trail somehow? Sev says that it is likely that Bellatrix wouldn't even be suspended from school.", Lily told him but their surprised looks told her that they had no idea about it.

Sirius was shaking in fury,"WHAT? Oh, I am going tear them a new one.". He got up and walked out of the hospital wing after kissing Nix on cheek. Regulus followed behind his brother, looking oddly frightening with his suppressed fury.

"Give them hell!", James yelled without looking up. "I will! Bastards!", Sirius angry voice reached them.

* * *

Orion was getting a headache from listening to cacophony of anger and outrage as they 'discussed' the trail Bellatrix and the Lestranges were about to encounter. His brother, his wife, Rosier family, Lestranges, Bulstrodes, Averys and Carrows family head were all there and raging against the injustice of Ministry.  _Merlin! How did the teachers teach students all their life? I want to end them all for being such bloody babies._ He missed his babies. Its been a while since he last saw them. 

As if summoned by Magic, his babies, or young boys, came in by blasting the door away. Sirius, looking murderous, and Reg, with his suppressed anger, came into the room. Everyone fell quiet as they looked at Sirius. Reg did get angry but he never attacked anyone. Sirius anger was stuff of legend, though. Sirius looked more angry than the time he attacked Walburga in Orion's office. Orion, inwardly smile, now there can be discussion on steps to take about this Bellatrix situation.

Bella has always been unstable but since marriage, she has gone absolute bonkers. It was annoying that she couldn't control herself for even a year, stupid girl. Torturing that muggle born was fine and all, he could have handled it without blinking. But, then she had go and pick a fight with Nix of all people. He was surprised when he heard that Sirius hadn't murdered her on the spot. But seeing Bella's condition in St. Mungos, made him realize why. Nix had taken care of that, splendidly. She, really, was an exceptionally powerful witch. 

He needed to do some damage control. This was pickle. He can't let Bellatrix rot in Azkaban, that would destroy the image of family's supreme power, and he can't release Bellatrix or his sons would skin her alive. Reg's anger was surprisingly more telling than Sirius's. His sons' have chosen their side n this war. It looks like it was his turn to do the same as well. 

" _You_...your girl is responsible for this mess. I hope she is suffering in the hospital wing for putting my daughter and son-in-law through hell.", Bella's father bellowed at Sirius, who looked at him unimpressed. 

"Is it true? Are you planning on getting Bella free from Azkaban?", Sirius asked levelly, even if rage was shimmering in his eyes, dismissing his uncle completely.

"Yes, she is family and Blacks take care of each other.", Orion said evenly. He knew was treading on light ice right now. Reg scoffed. 

Sirius said disdainfully," No  _Lord Black_ , all you care about is your reputation in the public." 

Reg took over and said dogmatically, "Let me lay it out for you how it will look in public if you go through with that plan. The wizarding world will see it as you supporting that fake Lord and his bloodist agendas. You would be labeled as death eaters and this household name will again be smeared with shame and dishonor. Not to mention, the public will have a lot to say, when Lord Black's both sons, including heir, would publicly denounce their ties with this family and all its ideologies.". Sirius nodded. Orion feared something like this would happen.  _Stupid Bellatrix. Because of her foolishness, he might lose his sons and heir to the house too. Idiot!_  

"You would DENOUNCE YOUR FAMILY FOR THAT USELESS PIECE OF BLOOD TRAITOR! YOU WOULD LEAVE BEHIND YOUR FAMILY FOR HER!! SHAME OF MY FLESH! TRAITORS! I WISH I HAVEN'T GIVEN BIRTH TO YOU, INSOLENT BRATS! YOU DO THAT AND I WILL BLAST YOU OFF THE FAMILY TREE! YOU WILL HAVE NO MONEY, NO PROSPECTIVE, NOTHING!", Walburga screamed.

 _Yeah, because that was what he needed right now._ What has happened to his wife? She used to be such an articulate and intelligent woman. Nowadays, all she did was yell and speak propensities or just threaten useless things.  

"Go ahead, mother. I will bring you your wand too, if you would like. But forget about that for a second and think what you want to do. You are trying to get someone who has used unforgivable curses, including killing curses, on three students in the school premises. There are witnesses to collaborate that. Apart from the fact that she, herself, has confessed to it, quite proudly, in front of seven aurors, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn and Scamandar. And, lets not forget she has the death eater mark, which she is proud of. She has also  _bragged_ about being one of inner circle member of Lord Voldemort too.", Sirius said assertively

"The person overseeing the trail is Crouch Sr, the most notorious Auror, on warpath against the death eaters. How in the world are you going to overturn this? Had Bella not confessed, maybe you had a way of circumventing the truth. But your brilliant,  _innocent adult_ daughter has confessed like a blabbering idiot. All you will manage, is fall on your faces flat in front of the world as your witness.", Sirius said as if chiding children for not knowing squat. 

_Why is it that his children make them feel like complete and utter morons? They were not wrong. There was no way Crouch would let seven prominent family death eaters get away. It would be a toss between life in Azkaban or dementor's kiss._

"Not to mention the ridicule and status setback, the families will get. If you support her and them, Crouch will give the biggest punishment he could get away with. He would like to show that no matter how powerful the family is, Crouch does not bow down in front of death eaters. He is running his campaign for Minister of Magic, based on the fact that he fears no one and is always going to be tough against death eaters. No matter the opposition. Sure, go play right in his hands and get your daughter a dementor's kiss.", Reg added solemnly. 

"So for once in your life, use your brains and get in line with reality. The rest is up to you elders to decide. But if you ahead with supporting Bella, then be ready for media frenzy when we declare ourselves against you.", Sirius said this and left. 

"He is not wrong. Think and the choices will, of course, be of the elders.", Reg went to join his brother.

The whole room was silent and then Bella's mother burst into tears. Walburga was looking ready to hex someone. He really missed the old version of his wife, nice, smart and graceful. His brother was looking at him in resignation and Orion sighed too. His brother fell back in his chair and started to sob. Lestrange was looking as stricken by it. He lost both his son, heir and daughter in law in one moment's madness. Bulstrode looked mad and said he was going to support his son, hell with everyone. Avery, Lestrange and Carrow agreed with him. They looked at Orion in question and rage. It was a question of unity.

"My sons have spoken the truth. We can't support Bella or Crouch will definitely give her dementor's kiss to dissuade the rest from joining the Lord Voldemort's cause. But if we side with light side, then maybe once the anger and all this chaos is done, we can get them to release her earlier with little fuss. I would like a day to announce my decision.", Orion said solemnly. This meeting was going to decide his house's future and whether his sons' would remain a part of it or not.   

* * *

Nix opened her eyes.  _Arghh...._ Was she in a quidditch match and zinged again? Because  _Ouch..._ She looked around and she was in a white foggy sort of place. Huh? She felt a bit cold and looked down, shrieked. She was naked. _What the hell?_ She needed some clothes. As if someone was waiting for her to think this, clean, neatly folded clothes appeared out of thin air. She wore them quickly. Then surveyed the area. It looked awfully lot like Great Hall, except quieter, cleaner and emptier. Where was she? This place was weird but not in an alarming way, but more like in calming sense. 

A voice spoke from behind her,"Welcome to no man's land, Phoenix."

She turned around and gasped. Her eyes almost popped out as she looked at the speaker of the voice. It was Harry James Potter, a 40 or so years old, Harry Potter was grinning widely and looked a little bit awkward.  _This certainly wasn't what I was expecting! Okay....Here goes nothing!_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was this chapter?  
> I have started a new story on Sirius/Harry time travel. Check it out.


	37. Cognizance

"Wait, is this real or is it all happening in my head?", Nix asked the 40 year old or something, Harry James Potter.

Harry James Potter, son of her brother, who was older than her brother. He was older than her was. Hell, she must half his height and yet, she was the aunt.  _Am I_ _spirally? I think I might be. Breathe!_ She must say her nephew has grown up to be handsome man with tidy beard and messy hair to boot. He looks happy too. His eyes have a shine of love, happiness and relief that she hasn't seen in any of her visions yet.

Harry James Potter, who has a ring on his hand. Holy mother of everything good, is he married? Oh, that's so amazing. He deserves happiness after everything he has been through. A grown up, happy Harry was in front of her. He was wearing clothes that fit his body brilliantly. He looked like James did in his..death vision, only better. 

His eyes were killer and sharp. She could still see shadow of loss lurking in his eyes. She wanted to hug him, but after all her visions she has given up hope to ever be able to do that. He was looking at her with a reminiscing look of something good from his past. As if a long lost conversation was coming back to him. 

"Yes, but why should it mean that it is not real?", Harry said with a crooked smile. Nix inhaled sharply. That look was her brother and that sparkling in his eyes was Lily. Merlin! He was a perfect blend of their personality and physique, wasn't he? Phoenix smiled brightly. 

"Please sit down.", Harry said cordially to her. She sat down on a chair that wasn't present before. This was weird arse place but she would come back to deciphering it later.

"Phoenix, I am sorry for putting you through what I have. I am not sure how much you know or how exactly the knowledge is being transferred to you. I would be happy to answer any and all your questions.", Harry said formally.

He looked awkward. She assumed he wasn't used to talking to family members, considered all have died as per her 'visions'. She decided that before they get down to business, Harry James Potter will know a real Potter. 

Nix smiled brightly and said," I get these sort of visions of what is happening. I am there, I can see but I can't do anything. Its like watching memory in pensive. There is usually a trigger or something to prompt the vision. And Harry James Potter, please call me Nix, Phoenix is Fawkes and he is very proud that I was named after him. He is, honestly, pain in the arse, sometimes."

Harry grinned and replied,"Only if you call me Harry."

Nix smiled and said,"I bet you got your name because of Sirius. (Harry looked at her intrigued.) He always makes fun of the fact that Potter men have the worst mop of hair. He, especially, gets a kick out of it because my father actually developed a potion to cure the hair problem. He must have had one look at your messy mop of hair, thanks to your father, and said 'well, he is definitely a Hair-y'. Lily, being Lily, would have been gone along with it to annoy your dad, but then the name must have stuck."

Harry started to laugh. He had a deep timber laugh and his sparkled when he smiled. He shook his head in amusement. 

"Just be glad your dad's name is Fleamont. Imagine Hair-y Fleamont Potter. I can see the jokes writing on themselves.", Nix added with a teasing smile. Harry bend down laughing. 

After calming down, he wiped his tears off and said with a fond smile, "I would have loved you, Aunt Nix.". Nix got teary eyed and hugged him. He hugged back tightly.  _Wait I can hug him?_ She hugged him tightly.

She pulled back and said with emotion filling her voice and eyes,"I am so, so proud of you. You are amazing Harry! I am so blessed to be related to you. The things you have done on your own, is amazing and awe inspiring. I know you don't know me in future but I love you so very much. And I can say with confidence that your parents would have been so proud of you. Had they lived, you would have been spoiled rotten. Your flying is definitely surpassing your dad. Absolutely amazing. Although, don't tell him I said that. He would skin me alive, no..he won't..but he would definitely pout all day. He is a pouter, your dad. I love you, my pure, amazing nephew."

Harry teared up and hugged her tightly. She kept hugging him as he broke down and started to cry in her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair and comforted him like someone should have all these years. This pure, amazing person. After a while, he calmed down and wiped his tear. Nix smiled brightly at him and he smiled back.

"Yeah.....Yeah. I would definitely have loved you.", Harry said with humor, even if his voice was still thick. Nix chuckled. 

"Harry, please tell me you are not dead? After everything, you survived right?", Nix asked him anxiously. Harry smiled fondly at her.

"I survived, Aunt. I took down Voldemort and I am happily married to Ginny and have three kids now.", Harry said with a smile. 

Nix brightened up and hugged him excitedly,"Oh, this is fantastic! Wait, Ginny? The girl you saved in second year? Oh, that is great! She looked like a solid girl. And kids, holy mother of pureness, tell me their names and age? Did anyone escape the Potter hair? Tell me someone has been able to defeat it!"

Harry laughed in delight and they both sat down on the ground. Harry said with a beautiful smile spreading across his face, "Yes, Ginny is the girl I saved in second year. We got together in sixth year but then broke off when I had to go out hunting Voldemort. After Voldemort died, we got back together. I married her soon after that. She is fantastic. She is currently a journalist but she used to be chaser for a professional quidditch team. I have two sons and a daughter." Harry looked encouraged by her interest and she smiled brightly.

"My first born is James Sirius Potter and he has my mop and Ginny's eyes. He, sometimes, reminds me of Sirius so much. He is definitely a troublemaker. He is currently in Auror training and he is natural at it. My younger son, Albus Severus Potter, has inherited Mum's eyes but my hair, is just out of Hogwarts and doing Mastery in Potion. My youngest, Lily Luna Potter, also with Potter hair but Ginny's eyes, is currently in her sixth year and is probably going to be a curse breaker or do Mastery in Charms. She is still deciding. They all play or have played in Quidditch teams. James was a beater, Albus was a seeker and Lily is a chaser. And no Potter hair is still winning."

Nix was drinking all this like a thirsty person on a dessert. "Oh, that is brilliant! Not the hair part, that is just sad, but everything else is brilliant! But Albus  _Severus_ Potter? Your dad and Sirius are having brain aneurysm right now.", Nix said teasingly.

Harry chuckled and said,"Oh don't get me wrong he bugged me too. I mean he was nasty and mean, but he did help me a lot. He saved me numerous times at great danger to himself and I wanted to honor him."

Nix eyes gleamed and said,"Plus, from all that I have seen, he must have had meltdown to have his name attached to a Potter." Harry grinned wickedly. Nix chuckled again. 

"Are any of your children married? In relationship? Oh come on, the visions have depressed me. Tell, tell. There is good in the world? And what happened to your friends? Ron and Hermione?", Nix asked him eagerly. Harry chuckled.

"Hermione and Ron married few years after the war. Hermione is right now Minister of Magic and Ron is doing business with George. He used to be an Auror, like me, but decided later to do something else with his life. He is doing great. They both have two children, Rose and Hugo. Rose is same age as Albus and Hugo is Lily's age. They are great friends. Rose is in process of being a healer at St Mungos and Hugo wants to something with creatures. Charlie was thrilled.", Harry said with a chuckle 

"James is not seeing anyone seriously right now. He wants to focus on his Auror training and enjoy his bachelorhood. Al is seeing Scorpius Malfoy and they have been together for 4 years now. He might be proposing soon. (Nix shrieked in delight. Harry's eyes teared up) Lily is seeing this Ravenclaw captain, but it's not serious. At least, I hope not. I don't know but the idea of my daughter getting serious with someone makes me a bit unsettled.", Harry said with a furrow.

Nix chuckled and said," Yeah, you should talk to Dad. He gets twitchy every time he see Sirius and me together."

"Sirius is dating you?", Harry asked in wonder.

"Uhh ..yeah. We are soulmates. As far as I can see, we are the perfect soulmates, you know we can't with another person, except each other."

Harry face cleared as understanding dawned on him, said" Oh, it's makes so much sense now. Remus told me that Sirius hardly ever dated or had any interest in girls around him. My father, apparently, thought that was because all his energy went into rebelling against his family. His family is nasty. Especially his mother."

"Oh she nasty, alright. But his father turned out to be okay and his life is better now, anyways. Reg and Sirius usually spend their holidays at our place, so they are away from her, at least.", Nix said and paused as Harry looked startled again.

"Really? Regulus and Sirius are still talking and stay together at your place? Well, that's great! I knew my Sirius had a huge regret that he couldn't prevent his brother from joining death eaters and dying because of it.", Harry said with a smile.

"No...no. Reg is in Ravenclaw and he hasn't believed in blood purist ideology since he was 10. His mother has not been happy about it either. Sirius and Reg are brothers, I mean not as brotherly as James and Sirius, but brothers all the same.", Nix assured him. 

"That's good. What about Remus? Do you know he is a werewolf? (Nix nodded) When did you guys find out about it? You can be animagus to keep him company!", Harry said excitedly.

Nix smiled and said," Yeah, Remus is a werewolf. We found out about it in our first year itself. Kind of hard not to when one of the vision was of him converting in front of Whooping Willow. We became Animagus by the end of first year itself. Had help from few friends from Uganda. Your father is a stag, Sirius is a grim and I am a Phoenix. Yes, I am Phoenix not just in name but in animal spirit too. G3 says Fawkes has been impossible since then."

Harry smiled brightly. He looked at her with curiosity. Nix smiled and changed. Harry gasped and said, "Wow! You look amazing. May I?" Buttercup chirped.

She felt Harry roughened hands gently caress her feathers. "Amazing! That's just...WOW! Do you have any magical properties? And why is there a paw on your chest and grim in your wings?", Harry asked her intrigued.

Nix changed back and replied," No, at least not yet. Although the way Fawkes, sometimes, looks at me, I feel like I would soon have some magical properties. Don't know for sure, yet. I can see magic in the air when I am Buttercup (my nickname). The paw and grim is Sirius's symbol on me. I think it is because we have uh..bonded in our Animagus form. As an Animagus, our emotions are less complex and so bonding is easier, I suppose."

Harry eyes rounded and he smiled. "Are they still Prongs, Padfoot and Moony? Is Moony having a hard time?"

"Yeah, they are. Well, the society is getting better. We have managed to change prospective of the students, teachers and people through some campaigning. Now the werewolves are categorized as humans with lifelong diseases, instead of dark creatures. They get Ministry help and protection. It is good. We, my dad and few of his friends, are also in process of developing a cure. I think we are close."

Harry's smile blinded her. He whispered softly," This world is already better." Nix smiled at him.

"I'm so happy to meet you, Harry. But it still doesn't explain all this.", Nix said as she pointed to her white foggy surrounding.

Harry smiled and said,"What do you know about Deathly Hallows, Aunt?"

Nix thought for a while and said,"That, they are myths. Although, G3 and _P_ _radyado_ did have an unhealthy obsession with that story."

"G3? _Pradyado_? ", Harry asked in confusion. He looked so much like James that it took her a while to answer.

"Oh, G3 and _P_ _ _radyado__  means Great grand father-shortened and in Bulgarian respectively.", Nix answered offhandedly.

"I am sorry, who are they? I have never met them.", Harry asked curiously. Nix stared at him.  _How did he not meet them? He literally named his son after G3? Huh?_

"Harry, my maternal great grandfather is Albus Dumbledore and _P_ _radyado_  is Gellert Grindelwald. (Harry's eyes widened into saucers. So Nix elaborated.) Mom was raised by G3 because granpa and grandma, both died of dragon pox at a young age. Ma was only thirteen at the time.", Nix said as she watched Harry's blood drain out. 

'I am sorry..did you..did you..say your mother or my grandmother is  _granddaughter of Dumbledore and Grindelwald?",_ Harry's broke in places as if he was being chocked.

"Uh, yeah?  I am pretty sure. G3 and  _P_ _radyado_ got married but then  _P_ _radyado_ went off his knockers. G3 didn't agree with him. Then there was this huge fight with Aberforth. Ariana died in the fight and Aberforth and G3 have not being brothers since then. G3 got separated from  _P_ _radyado_ soon after that. He raised their two year old, Adrian, alone from that time on wards.Then, of course, the great battle happened. G3 defeated  _P_ _radyado_ and came back to raise grandpa. Grandpa got married and a few years later, ma was born. Then almost 80 years later, we were born.", Nix explained gently to Harry, whose eyes looked to be falling off his socket. 

Harry chocked and cleared his throat a few times before saying in raspy voice, "In my timeline, Dumbledore and Grindelwald don't get married or have a child. Here, gays can't have children, Aunt. Dumbledore was only my headmaster, not my relative."

Nix reeled back at the information and said shocked," What? That's preposterous! Just use the child bearing potion along with gender part change one, and voila you have a ready womb. But G3 is not related to you. How is that possible? Unless.." 

_How is that possible? Wait...Harry is saying that they are all dead and ...but they have already managed to change several things about the future. He said so himself. If that was the case, his life would have already been changed too. How is his life still the same?_

"Harry...was Peter Pettrigrew the reason for your parents' death?", Nix asked timidly. Harry nodded and Nix mind was working at lightening speed. She gasped at what her mind has spurted out.

"Oh! Oh! Your life hasn't changed at all has it? ( Harry shook his head. Nix nodded) That is because this is a parallel universe. You have your own life going on but here a different life is being formed. Does it make any sense to you?", Nix asked him. Harry looked contemplative and then his eyes shined.

"So I will continue to live the life I am living but in your universe, my future is being changed. Right?", Harry asked her.

"That is the only explanation for it. Peter is not even their acquaintance in this time. How the hell will he be the secret keeper? But then, how are you here? And why are you here? I thought you were happy in your life?", Nix asked worriedly. 

Harry smiled genuinely at her and said,"I am happy, Aunt. I have never being at peace like I am now. I was actually worried I would destroy my world in attempt to save others. Turns out, Magic does knows how to do a favor." Nix looked at him confusion.

"Aunt, Deathly Hallows are real. The ring which brings back your death ones; the elderly wand (which is Dumbledore's wand at the moment); and the invisibility clock(the one dad has). When combined together, they become the Deathly Hallow. The person who yields them all becomes the Master of Death. A Master doesn't control Death but is actually a savior or protector of the innocents. The legend is real but a real Master of Death is someone who is willing to die, so that others can live. Other people maybe able to possess it, but not really be the Master.", Harry explained. 

"I am the Master of Death because I died for people, only I didn't die. It's difficult to explain. You will understand once you have all my memories. But I am, essentially, the Master of Death. So Death, (yeah, I met him. Not a bad guy at all. Great fashion sense though.), told me that the Master can have one wish. I wished to have a childhood free of Voldemort and for everyone I loved to live a good life that they were supposed to have."

"After my wish, I panicked because I do love my life and I didn't want to leave it. But I, also, wanted everyone, who have suffered in these wars, to not suffer. Plus, I knew I would be putting heavy burden on someone or myself to do it all over again. I couldn't do that. Neither did I want anyone to not suffer like they did. It was pickle, you see. Death told me that I would still have my life while my childhood would improve. He said that he wouldn't send me back or change anyone else chance of having a life. But, He will select its champion. I didn't know how that was possible but it makes sense now. "

"Sirius has Reg still as his brother; his father sort of supports him; He is dating his soulmate, so he is happy. Remus already has his friends supporting him during the transformation and you are close to developing a cure, which is fantastic. More than that, the society and Ministry have changed their stance and acknowledged that they are human and are helping them, which absolutely brilliant. Peter is not their friend, so that rat can't destroy the lives like he would have done later to save his useless hide. Everyone I love is happy and is already living a better life."

"Since, I didn't want anyone I knew to be burdened by the task or me to go back and do it all over again, Death asked me what if he brought back to life someone who was dead already in my past and didn't live a life in that time period. Someone who would be strong, close to people I love and willing to do everything to change the path of future. Death explained to me that my dad had a twin, who was a still born. He would bring her to life and she would be his champion, provided she passed his tests or else she would die, like she was meant to. I am so glad he brought you back to life. You are amazing person, I can already see it. This means that I get to live the life I built here but the Harry born in your time would have a better, love filled childhood.... Aunt, are you okay?", Harry asked her worriedly. Nix had gone white as a ghost.

"I am sorry, it is a lot to take in. Okay...okay... so Death, is a real entity, and I am chosen as his champion to change the course of the world, so that Death's Master can have a happy childhood? I am getting it right?", Nix asked in high pitched voice.

Harry looked grave and nodded. He said with heavy voice,"I am sorry for putting all this on you, Aunt. It was selfish of me. I didn't think what it would do to you and others. I.." 

Nix stopped Harry from apologizing mid sentence as Nix hugged him tightly. Nix said assertively, " _Don't_ ever apologize for that. I would give my life if it meant everyone else gets to live a happy life. For you, I would suffer ten times more. You are my twin's son. I would give up everything to keep you happy, Harry. Never forget that. We all love you, do you understand me? I love you and if to give you a happy childhood, I have go after Voldemort and his lanky, so be it."   

Harry started to tear up again and kept murmuring 'thank you' in her hair. After he settled down a bit, Harry looked at her in admiration but she could see guilt lurking in his eyes again.

"Harry I would have anyways gone against him. He is a sadist and a fraud. I wouldn't have sat aside while he destroyed the world and innocents in it. You have only given us a way to end his sorry arse life earlier. So stop feeling guilty, will you?", Nix chided him. Harry looked relieved and smiled brightly.  

Nix with renewed purpose, asked him,"Alright, then. Tell me what all I have to do to make the future better? I promise to do everything I can to make it happen."

Harry looked at her gratefully and said with love shining in his eyes,"I need to know how much you know?"

Nix breathed in deeply and said," I know how James, Lily, Sirius and Remus die. I know how Peter betrayed them; Sirius suffered in Azkaban for thirteen years; how Peter is responsible for bringing Voldemort back; how you fought him in graveyard  (can I add, so proud); triwizard tournament (excellent dragon evasive flying, by the way); your mother's protection spell on you. I know about the basilisk, dairy being a Horcrux, Ginny. I know that Voldemort has made more than one horcrux. Among other things."

Harry nodded thoughtfully and said,"Okay we don't have much time. You have to go back. But don't worry you will get rest of memories to make everything else clear. He made six horcruxes with knowledge and one without his."

Nix eyes popped opened "Oh Merlin! Six? Six? How the hell was his soul still stable enough to not disintegrate into pieces upon a moments notice?" Harry looked at her in wonder and smiled brightly.

"It wasn't stable. When Voldemort's spell hit my mother's protection, it backfired on him and caused his soul to split up again. His soul attached to the only living person in the room, me. I was the unintentional horcrux he made.", Harry said with a smile. 

Nix was dumbfounded and sputtered out,"But..how..you..how..is it still in you?"

"No. When Voldemort took my blood to resurrect himself, he broke the physical barrier, so he could attack me and kill me. But the kicker was that his soul was not protected by my mom's protection spell. So when I surrendered to him at the night of final battle to save everyone, the kill spell meant to kill me, only managed to kill his soul, leaving me whole and him without any backups. I had to surrender because if I had fought then..."

"Your mom's protection wouldn't have been activated.", Nix finished his sentence in wonder. Harry nodded with a smile. "Let me guess, this was all planned by G3? The whole plan reeks of him.", Nix added as she thought about it.

"Yeah. I didn't know at that time. I really meant to die so that everyone else left could live, and then someone would be able to kill him. It actually worked beautifully in two ways. Because I had an option to not die, yet I chose to die because of the love I possessed, the same protection charm that kept me alive, was covering everyone from him forever. He would never have been able to kill anyone after that. And then he ended his own horcrux taking him a step closer to death.", Harry said with satisfaction.

Nix looked at Harry in wonder but yeah it fit everything she has learnt about him till now. He was the most selfless being, she has ever met. He was too pure for such a harsh world. Her heart filled with love for such an amazing person. 

"Okay, so horcruxes have to go? What all are there and where?", Nix asked him.

"Well, there is diary which used to be with Malfoy, Hufflepuff cup was in Lestrange's Gringotts vault, Slytherin ring was in Graunt Manor (which is the Deathly Hallows ring), Slytherin locket was in cave in North China Sea, his pet snake Nagini is one, Ravenclaw Diadem is in Room of Requirements in Hogwarts.", Harry said. Before Nix could ask more question, Harry dropped a bombshell on her.

"Aunt, you are me. I mean, my memories are coming to you not because they are vision, but because Death essentially duplicated my memories and planted them in yours. Now the barrier holding them back would be vanished. So, umm.., technically you are me.", Harry finished awkwardly and Nix felt her mind go blank.

"I am sorry...WHAT? I AM ...WHAT? I am ...I AM.....BLOODY HELL!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I AM YOU. SO I AM GUY IN GIRL'S BODY? What about me? Fuck! Should I change my name to Harry now? Oh my ...", Nix panted as she had a panic attack. It was not the best feeling but son of a ...she was..she was...

"No No...You are Phoenix Euphemia Potter, sister of James Potter. You just have my memories in you. You are your own person. I am just there to guide you along with my memories. Aunt, trust me, you are not me. You are far too intelligent to be me. I choose the words poorly. You are you and you will have my memories to guide you is all. Please breathe!", Harry said soothingly. It took her a while but she was able to breathe properly.

"Merlin! You really are James's son. He is horrible with words too. Don't do that. I had an existential crisis, for Merlin's sake!", Nix scolded him. Harry smiled sheepishly. She knew he only said this to calm her down. But he started to fade a bit. He hugged her closely and whispered to her, 

"Aunt, please don't do anything that would kill you. Even if my parents have to die, I would prefer to grow up with you. Okay? I love you. And I love them. Please be safe, all of you. And don't worry about me..I..happy..here..bye."  

Harry vanished and she was assaulted by memories after memories of Harry James Potter. She buckled down and merged herself in the memories, so that she can give that young man a happy life, the one he deserved.

* * *

She was still shuffling through Harry's memories. Or were the memory, hers? She didn't know. But she was not going to think about it because it gave her a massive headache. She would take Harry's word as truth and think of his memories as something that the Amulet has given her. She was not Harry Potter, she just had his memories to help her guide through the path to end Voldemort and his reign for once and all. Yeah...yeah...but Merlin! She was..She needed to talk to James and Sirius. If they thought she was different then she will have to change the way she thought about herself. If not, then she was Phoenix Potter, sister of James Potter and soulmate of Sirius Black, with memories of Harry Potter. Yeah..yeah.. because that was uncomplicated as a freaking riddle. But first, she needs to wake up from her slumber.

James has been anxious and bugging her since she was stuck by the magical snake magic. But it was so difficult to open her eyes. It felt like she has been hit by bludgers simultaneously till all her bones broke. Merlin! It hurt! She couldn't find energy to wake up and James won't quit urging her to get up. She is trying..give her a moment. 

"Buttercup, hey sis. Please wake up. Its been three days now. I have been patient because I know you are fine, but this is getting ridiculous. Please..please wake up. I will loose my mind, otherwise. I miss you, sis.", James voice penetrated through the haze that was clouding her mind was. She heard him choke back a sob. _No her brother was not crying because of her. Come on, body wake up!_

Her eyes opened and she saw her brother sobbing, his hands were covering his face. She felt his utter despair and loneliness. She sucked in a breath when she realized why he was feeling that. _Damn it! Did she die for a while? Did he feel the hollowness and darkness? Oh Merlin! This was worse than what she thought._ She tired to lift her arm but it felt like it was someone's else hand.  

She cleared her throat because that was literally the only thing was capable of doing without making her pass out in pain. James snapped his neck to look at her. His neck cracked a bit and he winced. Nix smiled at the expression her brother was making. James pouted at her but then his eyes grew big. It reminded her of Harry. 

"YOU ARE UP!!!", James screamed and hugged the life out of her.  _Ouch! That hurt!_ But she didn't say anything because she knew he needed that. He pulled back quickly. "You are in a lot of pain. Why? You weren't before."

"I think my body is responding to being bed ridden for so long. Got any pain med, bro?", Nix said in raspy voice. James rushed out to get Madam Pomfrey. She closed her eyes and tried to breath normally. 

"Hello, lovely. Are you in pain?", Madam Pomfrey cold hand made her open her eyes and she nodded slightly, only to wince at the moment. James winced along with her. Madam Pomfrey nodded and made her drink a potion. Nix sighed in relief, as did James, as warmth spread through her body. Madam Pomfrey smiled and left. James came towards her silently. 

"I am so..so sorry for making you go through that! I am sorry. You should never have gone through that. I am sorry for leaving you alone for a while. I am so so sorry. Are you okay?", Nix asked him in concern. James chocked back sob and engulfed her in a hug. She ran her hands through his hair, while muttering assurances, as James cried it out.

He kissed her on her cheeks and then buried his face in her hair, which was ... braided.  _Huh? Not important, right now._  She hugged him back tightly. She knew he needed to feel the physical connection to assure him that she was fine. 

"Thank you..thank you for not dying on me. I wouldn't have... Merlin, Nix! The hollowness and darkness in place of you would have drowned me. I would never have been able get over it. So, thank you for not leaving me alone. I love you so much.", James said teary eyed.

Nix smiled fondly and said,"As if I could ever leave you. I would be annoying you till you die."

James huffed a laugh and hugged her again. There was less desperation, this time. She kissed his mop of a hair and then sneezed when they tickled her nose. James laughed as he pulled away. 

"So, is it a curse or blessing?", James asked her tentatively.

"Blessing, brother.", Nix smiled and James smile blinded her. He nodded as relief and happiness spread through him. He hugged her again.

"I will get mom and dad. She has been a mess. They are with G3, right now. I think G3 is trying to get her to sleep. Moony is with Aunt Minnie getting homework. That guy will die buried under homework! And Padfoot is taking a shower in there for past half hour, so he should be out in another half hour.", James said humorously. Nix chuckled and James beamed at her. He kissed her cheeks as he hugged her tightly, and left to get their parents.

Madam Pomfrey came in and started to feed her several potions. After she was done with fixing Nix's pain, Nix asked her about the injured girl.

"The girl was Bertha Jinkins of Huffelpuff. If it wasn't for you and Lily, the girl would have died. The spells you gave Lily helped the girl immensely. Well done, 50 points for being so brave and compassionate. You will be fine. I reckon, you would be weak for a while, max a month, and then their would be no problem.", Madam Pomfrey said soothingly and telling her to take it easy for a while, left her to rest. 

Nix closed her eyes as she felt the potions working her system. Her body felt relaxed and calm. She opened her eyes when Sirius's musky smell reached her and her eyes widened. He was wearing only a towel, which was wrapped around his waist.  _Merlin! Has he gotten hotter or did her eyes not work before? Because Oh boy! That is some body._

Nix licked her lips as her eye traveled his toned body that had water dripping down him. She wanted to lick it and see the effect of her tongue on him.  _Huh? I am getting hornier as I grow older. But damn!_ She whistled. 

Sirius looked amused at her and shook his head. Then snapped back as realization dawned on him. He, then, flung himself on top of her, all in his towel naked glory, hugging and kissing her everywhere he could reach.

"You are up! Merlin! You are up. You are fine. You are fine, right?", Sirius asked in concern as his hands patted her hair. 

"I am fine. It is a blessing, after all. Although I have to say, being woken up to this view is not something I would mind at all (Sirius looked at her in confusion). You are almost naked on top of me, _Mi cielo_. Did I tell you that your body should be declared illegal?", Nix said coyly.  

Sirius looked at her deeply as cradled her face and kissed her slowly and softly, as if he had all the time in the world. He filled so much in that one kiss. It was in contrast to the desperate snog before the snake incident. She teared up a bit at the pain in his eyes when they parted.

"I am sorry about it. I never wanted to you to be in pain. I am so sorry, you had to go through that.", Nix said softly as she cradled his face gently and pecked him lightly. She looked at him remorsefully. She really didn't want to hurt any of them, ever. But she had. It will take them a while to overcome this incident. 

Sirius sighed and kissed the inside of her palm and then smiled at her radiantly. His eyes cleared of the pain as it was filled again with love and happiness. 

"You are okay! You are safe! The bloody curse is a blessing in disguise! So that is a up. But you will have to tolerate my clinginess for a while.", Sirius told her half joking and half 'Sirius'ly. Nix eyes sparkled and Sirius smiled grew.

"Does this clinginess comes with you being half naked? Because I am all for it.", Nix replied teasingly as her hands lightly massaged his naked smooth back. 

Sirius huffed a laugh and said with a lovely smile,"It a package deal,  _A chroí "_ as he caught her lips in a passionate snog. They snogged for a long time, getting reacquainted and just enjoying each other's presence. 

He said passionately, "Merlin! I missed you!". He started to kiss her neck with open mouthed kiss. 

Nix smiled and said wickedly,"I know!" as her thigh brushed his hardened member. Sirius inhaled sharply and looked at her with darkening eyes. He licked his lips but she put her finger on his lips to stop him. He pouted.

"Not that I don't love the fact that you are almost naked on top of me. Looking criminally sexy at that. And, it would be fun to lose my hold on reality due to your wicked tongue, _Mi cielo_. But I really don't think my father would appreciate seeing us in this position.", Nix said as she grinned widely.

Sirius eyes went wide and he sniffed. He yelped because he could smell her parents. If she  could feel James just around the corner, then Sirius could definitely smell them. He hurriedly got dressed as Nix unabashedly watched him getting dressed.

"Nix, stop looking at me like that! I am trying to be responsible so that your father doesn't murder me!", Sirius warned her with a smile. He came forward, properly dressed, and kissed her deeply.

"You are okay, right? ( Nix nodded with a smile) Good! No more dying! Okay? Promise?", Sirius asked her a bit desperately.

"No time soon, promise." Nix said softly. Sirius nodded and clutched her hands tighter.  

The door of her hospital room opened with a bang. Her parents flew in at an impressive speed and engulfed her into a sandwich hug. She hugged them back. Mom was crying heavily on her shoulder, while her father hugged from behind, kissing her hair repeatedly. 

"I am fine. It is not a curse. Its okay. Its a way of making world better, faster. Please stop blaming yourself. I am fine and not hurt.", Nix said softly to them. She saw James and Sirius hug each other tightly in relief. Remus entered the room and looked overjoyed seeing her awake. She smiled at him and he beamed back. G3 was standing there near the door, looking relived and happy. She caught his eye and he nodded. He closed the door and warded the room. They all settled down as they waited for her parents to calm down. It took them a while, but they did.

"Are you hurt, anywhere? What did Madam Pomfrey say?", Mom asked her.

"I am fine. I will probably be weak for a while but I will be in full strength in a month or so. Other than that, I am fine.", Nix said with a reassuring smile. Her parents hugged her again and sat on her either side. 

Remus came forward and hugged her tightly. He whispered to her,"Thank you for not dying. It wasn't fun without you." Nix hugged him back tightly and smiled. Remus went and sat beside James and Sirius, who were sitting on the bed in front of her. G3 came and hugged her too. 

"Would you like to tell us now? Or we can wait a while. There is no urgency now, anymore.", G3 said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Na, I would like to tell now. Again, I can't tell everything but I will explain the gist of it. The knowledge that I have now is extremely powerful and sensitive. Okay?", Nix told them. They all nodded and waited for her to speak. She breathed in deeply and started to speak of the wackiest experience she has ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like the explanation? How was Harry?
> 
> pradyado: Bulgarian for great grandfather  
> A chroí” (uh KHREE): Meaning “Heart” in Irish  
> Mi cielo-my heaven in spanish


	38. Serenity

Sirius couldn't pay attention. He knew his father was talking about some important business of theirs but for life of Sirius, he doesn't even remember the topic. He had been in this zone for past 5 days now. The school holidays started 6 days ago. He hasn't been near Nix for 5 days. 

His nightmares were hellish. Reg was bunking with him but even then, he was able to sleep for a couple of hours, max. He had to wait for at least 2 more weeks before he could be with her again and it was hell.

Nix was still weak. It took her over three days to simply get out of bed by herself. In face of her weakness, Professor McGonagall had asked her verbal questions about the subjects in gist and she was scored based on that and her performance in the class. Even now, Prongs told him that she gets dizzy just walking up and down the staircase. But she was getting better. So that was a relief. According to Dumbledore, her body was reacting to having additional memories and it would need time to  need some time to adjust.

It was surreal what Nix had told them. James's future son has found some way to pass his knowledge of stopping Voldemort from future into Nix. It was amazing that James's son had defeated Voldemort in the future. But, he had suffered tremendously in process of doing that. The wizarding population had reduced by two third and Magic had chosen Nix as her champion. 

She was not in danger but she was going to go after Voldemort. She didn't give details but they understood that if the knowledge of what Nix knew, somehow, managed to reach Dark side supporters, Nix would be hunted down. So they agreed not to ask a lot of questions. Dumbledore had assured them that he would take care of Nix. They believed him. He was right till now.

There was a time when everyone got teary eyed. Hell it felt like the rug was removed from under their feet. Nix was still born when these two were born. Magic brought her back to life to test her, to see if she could be her champion. Her parents had hugged her strongly after hearing that. Prongs had a fiery expression on his face, Dumbledore looked numb and Remus looked distraught at the very thought.

It meant that Prongs felt a darkness and emptiness in him throughout his life. It meant that their life was without her. He couldn't even imagine his life without her. Without her smile, her hugs, her sinfully addictive kisses, her intelligence, her sweetness. She was his everything. How did he survive without her? 

He didn't ever want to imagine a time when he was without her. He needed her. He wanted to sleep and wake up next to her. To be with her every moment of the day. He would murder anyone that tried to take her away from him.

He looked up to see his father looking at him in concern. He should respond but all he really could do was sigh and count till the day he would meet her again. They all were supposed to go for the World Cup soon enough. They had to attend Alice and Frank's wedding in December and dad wanted it to be the last official courting for Sirius and Nix. After that the dad would start negotiation process. Once the families have decided on certain points, then the groom and bride will have their say in it. Then on Nix's introduction Yule Ball next summer, they would declared engaged. That was good. No one would even attempt to ask for her hand, then. Oh, he was being declared as Heir too.

Sirius supposed that dad wanted to declare to the world that they were firmly on the side of light. Their engagement next Christmas would be announcement enough. His father had decided not to support Bella and had publicly denounced what she had done. This had caused a great uproar among other pureblood fanatics; but Dad was adamant.

Sirius knew there were few reasons for that. One, Bella trial would be overseen by Crouch Sr., which meant that any power pull would only encourage Crouch to be harsher. Uncle had agreed to not use any force to get Bella out as well. Uncle knew that they couldn't get his daughter off the hook after her foolish confession. But they can try to reduce her sentence later on. Second, the more prominent one, was that the Blacks will fall down their faces, which cannot happen ever. They had no way of changing the course. Third was, of course, his sons threat of denouncing their house. Such scandal was unheard in house of filled with incestuous relationships. 

Lestranges were the most displeased one of the lot but he had overheard Lord Lestrange say that he understood why dad did that. But Lestrange had his whole house's future on the line and he had to do everything he can. The rest of the accused families were doing everything to get their children off the hook. It had only made Crouch more determined. He had a bill passed, recently, with stricter and harsher punishment for supporters of Voldemort.

The trail was in a couple of weeks and was already generating a media sensation. There were articles and articles about the case, the families, alliances, predictions in Daily Prophet. Everyone wanted to interview Nix, who has refused resolutely. As had Lily.

Lily and Nix were both witnesses to the crime against Bertha. Bertha, on the other hand, was all over the newspaper telling how she was victimized and almost killed, if it wasn't for Lily and Nix, by the seven pureblood fanatics for being a muggleborn. She was developing a lot of sympathy in the crowd. 

"Sirius?", Dad said in a tone which meant he has been trying to get his attention for a while. Sirius looked at him in question.

"I was wondering if we can postpone the classes until after world cup (Sirius shrugged). Why don't you pack your bags and you and your brother can stay with the Potters till the trail is over and your mother is in a better mood.", Dad said with a smile.

Sirius only registered the part of staying with Potter for more than a month and more importantly now. He nodded excitedly and hugged his father before dashing to get his bag packed. He yelled at Reg to get ready to go to Potter's. Reg yelled in delight from his room. 

Mother came to his door and glared at him furiously from the door, she wasn't allowed inside his room. Sirius ignored her, so she went and glared at Reg. After a while of no response from either of them, she left, yelling something towards Dad's office.

Mother has been absolutely unbearable this summer. And it had only been 5 days. She was furious that they were not supporting the ideology of their forefathers and lowering themselves to kiss arse of mudbloods and blood traitors. She said that they were turning their back on Black's and it was preposterous. Dad had ignored her yelling. The three of them have ignored her completely. He once saw her yell at a wall for being incompetent. His mother insanity cells were taking over.

Sirius packed his stuff and went down to his father's office to see him massaging his head. Yeah being yelled by mother for a long time would do that. Or being in her vicinity would do that. Reg came immediately after him and they looked at dad expectantly. Dad chuckled and stood next to them. In seconds they were portkeyed away.

MaPo was standing there waiting for them with a huge smile. The boys rushed to hug her and she happily hugged back. As dad and Reg made small talk with her, Sirius left to meet the twins. He met James on the stairs and they both hugged tightly. 

"She is sleeping right now.", James told him as Sirius went to her bedroom. He wasn't going to wake her, he just needed to see her. He tried to open the door, only to be zapped by the door knob. He looked, confused, at James.

James grinned and opened the door without getting zapped. Bloody twin bond! Sirius scowled at him. He tried to enter the room but was zapped again. 

James said, amused,"Dad placed a protection spell on her door. He saw you two snog and well more, in the hospital room once. Now he is going to make sure you two are not alone. At least, under his roof. Come on, let's go to the muggle market. Nix wanted some gummy bears. You can meet her when she wakes up and comes out."

Sirius shook his head. James left saying that once he was tired of being zapped, he can come and find them in muggle world. Sirius growled in frustration after being zapped for third time. He had a crazy thought. James could enter without being zapped because soul was part of Nix's. Sirius hadn't bonded with her yet, but his Animagus was. 

He converted into Padfoot and cautiously tried to enter the room. The room had no objections as Padfoot padded in. Padfoot, delighted, bounced to her bed. She woke up and gave dopey smile. She was still sleepy but nodded to him to get in bed. He gladly did. He hugged her from behind and Nix turned around and buried her face in his chest. Sirius breathed in deeply and fell asleep. 

After what felt like hours, he woke up, to his delight, with Nix plastered to his side. He sighed in happiness. His beautiful soulmate was here. Safe. Breathing. His heart could beat freely again. Nix opened her eyes slowly and he got lost in her eyes.

Nix blinked rapidly and the happiness in her eyes turned to confusion than to awe. He looked at her in question.  

"You are really here....", Nix said in wonder.

Sirius looked at her in confusion. Of course, he was here. Wait, did she think he was a fragment of her dream? Oh.. _.oh._..he smiled brightly and kissed her softly, the one which had her curling her toes. 

Sirius pulled back and looked at the dazed expression on her face with happiness. "Yeah, I am here." 

Nix blinked and then blushed prettily. Sirius smiled at her and ran his fingers through her hair. 

"You dream that I am with you? How often?", Sirius asked curiously. He was curious if she dreamed about him as much as he did about her. Nix turned crimson and nodded. Shy Nix did something to his heart. Any form of Nix did something to his heart.

He nudged her lightly and she looked at him. He leaned in close to her and whispered softly to her,"How often, Nix?" He adjusted his body so that every inch of his body from chest to legs was pressed to her.

"Everyday.", Nix said softly and hid her face in his chest, as if she was embarrassed about it. There was no need to be embarrassed. He dreams about her every day.

He hugged her closely and whispered in her ears, "Good. It means I am not the only one.", His voice came out huskier than he had intended. He felt shiver go through her spine and he nipped her ear lightly. She inhaled sharply.

Sirius jumped a little as he felt her warm wet tongue lick his neck. Nix grinned at his shocked expression. He grinned back and pulled her close to passionately snog her. Sirius was going to start going down on her neck, when Nix stopped him.

With an apologetic expression, she said tentatively,"I am sorry. I am tired and a bit sleepy. I can't really do this now."

Sirius smiled her in assurance and said,"That's okay. Mind if I sleep next to you? I haven't been able to sleep for past few days properly." 

Nix looked pained at his admission and hugged him tightly. 

"Of course, you can.", Nix said. She started to run her fingers through his hair and was humming some melody. He could see she was in deep thought.

"How did you manage to bypass dad's barrier?", Nix asked him curiously.

"I couldn't in my human form but then I wondered if I could in my Animagus form. Padfoot came in without an issue.", Sirius explained as he trailed her spine.

Nix eyes widened and she lips became a perfect 'O'. She said in wonder,"I always wondered if my form on Padfoot and your symbol all over Buttercup meant that we were bonded. This proves that our Animagus form have bonded. I didn't know that Animagus and human form were so different from each other that one could bond without second. But then again, how many soulmates are there, who are both Animagus."

Now, it was Sirius's turn to be pleasantly surprised. Nix looked at him in question and he said softly," I didn't think you would ever admit to us being soulmates, now that you are going after Voldemort."

Nix flushed a bit and then bit her lips in worry. Nix said," I... Sirius you should know that I am essentially Harry. My experiences might be different than his but I am him, in a way. I understand if it is weird for you..."

Sirius kissed her deeply and pulled back. Nix looked dazed and happy.

"If you were a guy, then the only issue would be our last names after marriage. Although, I won't mind being a Potter. Even now. It wouldn't matter to me, as long as it is you. Stop worrying about it. You could be Phoenix Potter, with Harry Potter's memories. Or you could be Harry Potter, living Phoenix Potter's life. It wouldn't matter to me because I love you. I am so glad that you are alive and with me. I don't even care about anything else. Okay?"

Nix face considerably brightened and she hugged him. She breathed in relief and confessed,

"I was so worried that you might feel differently about me. James told me I was nuts too. He didn't care that I had memories of his future son. He was just glad that I was with him. I, really, am blessed to have you as my soulmate, Sirius, and James as my brother. Thank you."

Sirius hugged her back tightly and kissed her forehead lovingly.

"So you won't be shying away from the fact that I am your soulmate, anymore?", Sirius asked her tentatively. He understood her reasons but it did hurt him a bit, not to hear her ever say it.

"No, I am not. There is no direct threat to you. I am going after Voldemort but you have already been doing that since you were eleven. You have already eaten away his major support; and after this trail, he would be have a dearth of faithful supporters, too. So there is no worry about me getting you in danger. I am sorry about hurting you with my reluctance at admitting our bond aloud. But you are my soulmate,  _Mi cielo.",_ Nix send it softly with love radiating off her eyes. He felt tears gather in his eyes. This was big. Her admitting this was huge.

He kissed her softly and slowly. After they pulled apart, Nix yawned loudly and he could see she was tired. Her weakness was worrying him. Nix pecked him and he smiled. She turned and slotted her back to his chest. It fit like it was meant to. Of course, it was. He hugged her close. And they fell asleep again. 

Sirius woke up next and breathed in Nix's summery scent, deeply. He felt rested after what felt like years. She has gotten more curvy since the last time they were this close. Was her arse getting bigger, too? It felt like it. His one hand was underneath her head acting like a pillow. His second hand was under her shirt. It must have slipped inside while they were sleeping. It was holding something very soft and circular....

He jumped out of bed, violently. He wasn't trying to feel her up while sleeping. Why wasn't he zapped when he had touched her there? Nix, who woke up from his violent jump, looked at him in concern and confusion. 

"You okay?", Nix asked him softly. 

"I...my hand was on your breasts while you were sleeping. It wasn't intentional but I am sorry for it.", Sirius apologized sincerely.

Nix smiled sweetly and said,"  _Mi Cielo_ , I don't mind it, as long as it is you. It's okay. Just for future reference, if I have a problem with something, I will tell you. Just respect my decision, then." Sirius nodded furiously. He wondered if he should climb back in the bed with her. He really wanted to.

Nix looked at his indecision and patted the bed. He still wasn't sure. He knew she wasn't wearing a bra now and his hand might not listen to his mind. Nix eyes sparkled as she laid back down on the bed. Her shirt lifted up slightly. His throat was getting drier the longer he looked at the small patch of her naked skin.

She said cheekily,"I don't wear bras when I sleep. Way too uncomfortable. So even after our wedding, I won't be any underwear in bed. You might want to get used to it. Or we could get you another bed."

Before she could turn on her side, Sirius gently pushed her back on her back, covered her body with his, and bit her jaw lightly. 

He said in a very husky voice, as he looked deep in her eyes," _A chroí,_  you won't be wearing  _anything_  in bedonce we get married, ever." Nix eyes widened and darkened at the same. Her breathing increased and she lightly scratched his hip bone. 

He lurched forward and kissed her passionately. His hand was lightly caressing her bosom over her shirt. He could feel her tips getting hard and he rubbed them between his fingers. It was a surreal feeling. She mewled and her back arched into the kiss. He pulled back from the kiss and took her shirt covered nipple in his mouth and sucked on them lightly. She moaned. He was going to remove her shirt, when he froze as they heard footsteps outside her door.

"How the hell did Sirius manage to get inside the room? I charmed it myself!", PaPo's exasperated voice flew to them.

James cherry voice answered him,"He is her soulmate, dad. What did you expect? No they have not bonded yet but their Animagus forms have. He bypassed it by converting into Padfoot. I was wondering when he would realize it." Sirius could imagine James's shrug as he answered.

"How am I supposed to stop them?", PaPo asked in frustration.

"Why do you want to stop them? They would bond if not this year, then by end of next year. Dad, he is the best guy for her. He placed her wishes over his own, when that bloody snake attacked her. It was tearing him apart listening to her screams, but he knew she needed me away from harm. So despite everything screaming in him to go to her, he kept his promise to her. Trust your magical protection on her to stop them from getting carried away and let them be.", James said calmly to him.

"Surprisingly, that is very mature of you, Jamie.", MaPo's voice joined their. "You, on the other hand, are acting like a child. Let them be. But we have lunch now, so let's go." MaPo chided PaPo.

"Fine. Get them down in 5 minutes.", PaPo voice said. He said louder, directed at Sirius and Nix,"And she better not have any marks on her, Sirius!"

Sirius and Nix looked at each other and burst into laughter. Only if he knew what they were doing right now. 

"Sis, I am coming inside in 5 minutes. Please don't scar me for life.", James voice said teasingly  to them. Sirius chuckled and held his hand out for her to get up.

Nix took his hand to get up and went to her wardrobe. Sirius leaned against the door to see what she would wear. Her back was to him as she rummaged through her wardrobe looking for a dress. He could bet it would be shots and his shirt. He grinned widely when she picked up shots and his shirt. 

Then without a care in the world, she removed her top, with no bra and all. Sirius went ramrod straight as he drank in her naked back and, slightly visible from the side, roundness of her beautiful breasts. He was salivating and had to pull himself together to not push her against the wall and snog her till there was no tomorrow.

To him it felt like Nix was teasing him. She was wearing her bra so delicately that it was turning him on. She pulled his shirt on her and it covered her till her halfway to her thighs. 

She dropped her pajamas, just as you please. And pulled her shots up her sexy legs, slowly. Sirius was breathing heavily. She turned and it looked like the only thing she was wearing was his shirt. His control snapped and he picked Nix up and pressed her against the wall.

Sirius whispered huskily to her, just inches from her face," _A chroí_ , are you wearing any underwear?"

Nix had the evilest grin on her face and she shook her head in negative. Sirius growled as he snogged her roughly. He had one hand buried in her hair, keeping her close; while the other hand was massaging her underwear free arse. Fuck! This was hot! 

They broke apart when a water jet hit him. He turned around to see James frowning at the two. Nix giggled at James expression. Sirius grinned happily too. 

"Merlin! This is what you two are when there is a protection spell on Buttercup. What the hell will happen, when there won't be any spell? Gah! Don't answer that. Get yourself presentable and let's go!", James said in exasperation and went back to her bedroom.

Sirius gently lowered her down and kissed her cheeks lovingly. She blushed. It was amazing that despite their heavy make out session just moments ago, this small kiss brought blush on her face. He grinned.

She fixed her hair and tucked his shirt in her shots, while he did the healing spell to hide the marks. He didn't want her father to kill him. She grinned and they went out. James was looking at the bed with a frown and slightly greenish tinge on his face. He shook his head and lead them down.

PaPo must have gotten a good scolding from MaPo, because he didn't say anything to him. Nix hugging him may also have done the trick. After the cheerful lunch, they sat around chatting for a while. Moony joined them around tea time for the holiday. He would be staying till World cup.

* * *

The holidays were going splendidly. They were having a blast in each other's company. Nix was almost back to her full strength. The boys have taken it upon themselves to bring her up to full strength. They took her for a jog every morning. Reg looked up different forms of exercises which will increase her stamina; James and Sirius cooked her food that was healthy and gave a lot of iron and protein; Remus was making her do small daily exercises. It was working, she was fitter than before.

James and Sirius came back from their animagus jog, to see a tall, handsome, dark young man standing in the hall. MaPo and PaPo were talking fondly with him. Moony and Reg came stood next to them. James made a face of fondness and irritation.

For whatever reason, the grim was rattled by him. Sirius didn't understand why? The guy looked like a solid guy. He was well built, slightly bulky, with kind eyes that looked intelligent. He had an aura of authority and command. Like he was the king of the jungle or something. His clothes showed that he was from a wealthy family. He had a gentle smile.

Nix came gliding down the stairs, wearing a tank top and shots. She was so beautiful and sexy. Sirius eyes were glued to her. The others have learned to expertly ignore these two during such moments. It was a common knowledge that their attention would be lost the moment the second one appeared. He watched as Nix gave him a smile and then, her smile turned into delighted shriek.

"BOO!", Nix shouted in delight, as she jumped into the arms of the tall dark, handsome man.  _Boo_  hugged her closely and closed his eyes as if his heart has healed finally. He smelled Nix's hair and Sirius lost his shit.

James and Moony, each, caught a hold of his arm and dragged him back into the forest as he growled and snarled. Reg looked disturbed to see him so unhinged. But, Nix was his soulmate and that bastard was ...well he did nothing. But he wanted to do a lot, he could tell. She was his and the need to rip him into pieces was taking over all his rational thoughts.

James got into his face and said,"I will bring her here. Calm down! Okay? It was just a hug. Breath!" Sirius calmed down slightly and started to pace, agitated.

Nix scent mixed with _Boo's_  smell had his grim pissed off. The rest of the boys left as Nix came towards him, happily. He saw some spell shoot out of James's hand. He would ask him about it later, right now all his attention was on his happy soulmate.

"So Boo..", Nix couldn't complete her sentence because Sirius had her pinned against a tree and was snogging the day lights out of her.  She kissed back as passionately as he was, despite her surprise at his sudden want for her. When she broke away to breath, he licked and sucked her neck with abandon. Usually, he was careful because PaPo and James were touchy about it. But right now, he wanted everyone to know she was taken.

Nix was moaning under his administrations. He removed her tank top quickly and unhooked her bra. Before she could catch her breath, he had taken one of her nipples in his mouth while he massaged and pulled the other one with his hand. He kept alternating between them.

Nix was moaning loudly in pleasure, her back seem to be permanently arched and her hips were rotating in small circles. He was in the haze and there was nothing that would stop him. He moved back up and snogged her again. His hips had started to move fast against her thighs. He was so close. He wanted her to come too when she whispered huskily,"Come for me, _Mi Cielo_. Come on!"

Sirius was incapable of not bowing down to her wishes. So he came with a groan and sagged against her. She ran her fingers through his hair, like she usually did, as she waited for him to come down from the high.

He half growled and said," I wish your dad hadn't put that charm on you. I really want to make you come." He kissed her reddish neck, lovingly. He pulled back and she smiled lovingly at him. She wore her clothes back on and he cleaned himself up.

She sat down against the same tree and he laid his head on her lap. "Wanna tell me what made you loose your shit like that? I could hear you growling and snarling all the way down there.", Nix asked him softly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"It was  _Boo_. The grim took over when he  _smelled_  you.", Sirius said aggravatingly. Nix bent forward and kissed him sweetly. He moaned into the kiss.

"I know you don't like him and grim sees him as a threat. But there is nothing to worry about,  _Mi Cielo._  I am only yours. He knows that too. He is a good friend of mine, so don't go tearing him down.", Nix told him calmly. Sirius shook his head like petulant child. He knew he was pouting but no, that handsome man was not coming near her. Nix huffed a laugh.

"Okay, how about we make a deal. Everyday you behave properly with him, at night I will sleep without one clothing of your choice. Apart from bra, that is going anyways. But the day you misbehave, you wouldn't be sleeping in my bed.", Nix said with a smile. Sirius nodded like an excited puppy. Nix chuckled. But then Sirius frowned.

"What is he doing here?", Sirius asked her petulantly.

"He is in the Wizarding court and has come over for the trial tomorrow. He will leave when the trial is over. So in a couple of days or so.", Nix explained. Sirius sat up and kissed her sweetly.  

Nix looked at him amused. "I suppose you want me to keep the hickeys to mark your territory?", Nix asked lightly as she conjured a mirror to see her state after the rough make out. Well, she looked ravished. Sirius grinned proudly.

"No, to tell him to remain in his.", Sirius clarified.

Nix grinned and saddled his lap and began to kiss, open mouthed, along his jaw. And then she moved down and sucked on his groaning point for a while. Then moved to the other side and did same with another spot. She pulled back and looked at her work and smiled satisfactorily.

She healed herself off the marks and he whined. She kissed him and said,"With you marked, he would know. I don't want Dad to kill you. He never said anything about me not giving you marks. So you would be safe."

Sirius could see her logic but .... He looked her, a bit sadly. Nix shook her head and shifted the top to a side and told him with a grin,"Mark me." Sirius grinned and got to work. After he was satisfied with few strategically placed love bites and hickeys, he pulled back. He might have gotten a bit carried away, whatever. 

Nix grinned fondly at him and stood up. They walked towards the house. "Remember the deal!", Nix warned him as  _Boo_  approached them.

"Hello, my name is Babajide Akingbade of House of Akingbade. You must be Sirius Black of Black House.", Boo said politely. Even if Sirius could see him sizing Sirius up. Sirius stood tall and proud and nodded. They both stared at each other in challenge. Boo's eyes widened as he noticed hickeys on Sirius's neck.

"Would you two like to be alone for a while? Maybe a guest room? I could arrange for privacy too, in case you wanted to wax poetry about each other or something.", Nix said jovially to them. Sirius barked a laugh and kissing her cheek, lead them inside while holding her hand.

* * *

The world cup was here.  _Finally! Merlin!_  James has been talking about it for three years now. It couldn't have come at a better time. The trial was done and dusted. The magical community was in uproar. Both sides were still dealing with the shuffling of the sides of dark and light side. This Quidditch World Cup came as a good distraction. It was going to be great!

They had all been supporting England to win, but they, each, had supported different teams too. James was supporting Madagascar, they had brilliant chaser team; Sirius was supporting Australia, they had killer beaters; Nix was supporting India for their seeker was sensational; Remus was supporting Syria, for being the most balanced team; and Reg supported Uganda, why, no one knew. Though he had seen the wide eyed way, Reg was looking at Boo. Maybe that had something to do. James and Remus were very proud that their teams had reached finals. 

Sirius had not appreciated his brother going gooey eyed at his nemesis. Yup, Sirius has, very maturely, declared Boo as his nemesis. He was, especially, ticked off when he saw Nix and Boo have a late night chat. He was pissed because he couldn't overhear what they were chatting about. Also, he didn't like the fact that Boo was in love with Nix.

Boo had been in love with her since he was 13. At first, he didn't know what it was but as he grew up, he realized what it was. He backed away without a fight, when he found out that Nix had a soulmate. He told James that it will take time but he will get over her. But he didn't want to lose her as a friend too. James had felt for him but not much, Sirius was his brother and he would always be in his corner. That few days had been awkward.

Nix was doing okay. She was fine and alive. She, like a fool, was worried that he might see her differently, now that he knew his sister had his future son's memory. How ridiculous was that? Even if she was his future son, she wasn't anymore. She was his sister, his twin, his half. He was, thankful, to his future son for giving him his sister back. He can't imagine a life without her. To think that he would have felt that darkness and loneliness in him since beginning. Merlin! That would have been such a painful life.

She had some told them bits and pieces of memories but nothing substantial to alert the dark forces. She showed them a couple of memories too. One was of Harry, his future son, who was a exact copy of him, flew expertly past the dragon. That one was brilliant. He was so proud of his future son.

Then the other one was him casting a patronous so powerful that it drove hundreds of dementors away while saving himself and Sirius, by using time turner to go back in time. He was powerful, strong and didn't mind breaking rules. He was his son, alright.  Then there was one of Snape and them bullying him after OWLs exams in Hogwarts, which his son watched on horrified. He knew she was showing him this one to tell him, not to be this version of James. But he wasn't. Snape bugged him and he made fun of him, so what. He was an arse as it is, who had a crush on his sister. That bugger. As if he would let him anywhere near his sister. Fucker! He really needed to get a shower to be even in vicinity of his sister. 

Nix was doing fine. She was breathing. Alive. And free of the freaking amulet curse. He was so relieved that she had survived. If she had survived, it meant she would live, right? Why would magic waste so much time on her, otherwise? His sister was badass and awesome. Of course, she was the Champion. He had bunked with her till Sirius came in. It was just awkward then. The outcome of the curse was much better than what he had expected. He could protect her in this. The unknown was over and he was fine. Or as fine as he could be. Mom dad usually bunked with him every once in a while.

His nightmares, although, have reduced considerably since he knew she would be fine now. She was getting introduced next Yule Ball and her engagement to Sirius would be announced. Alice and Frank's wedding was in December and then, his little sister would be engaged, soon to be married. She would leave him. She was all grown up now. But that was okay, because he was planning on camping on their sofa for rest of his life and annoy the crap out of Sirius's mom. They had no issue with it. Reg was more excited about the second half. 

Nix tiredness has left her and she was in better shape than ever. Something that Sirius appreciated a lot. James had, also, noticed the extra bounce in Sirius's steps, after coming out of Nix's bedroom every morning while Boo was there. He looked ridiculously pleased and James figured it would be better for Sirius's health and James's sanity, if he didn't ask details about it. Dad seem to be having same thought. Mom was very amused by both of theirs reactions, or deliberate lack of it.

Sirius has started to work out furiously too. As Sirius explained, "The hotter Nix gets, more guys would try to woo her." That, absolutely, had nothing to with how fit and handsome Boo was. Sirius had a particular shape in mind, which James knew would be abs and fit body, no bulkiness. Nix had, always, liked that shape on a guy. The only girl, Sirius wanted to impress was Nix, so his aim was obvious. 

He was going to avoid Ava here. Ava had been pissed at him, since he hardly spent time with her after the Quidditch Cup win. She was supportive when Nix was sleeping, but once she woke up, Ava didn't understand his need to be near his sister all the time. James was pissed that she didn't understand. He was tired of her being so demanding all the time. So they parted the year angrily and she had broken it off in a letter. Lily was there that day when he got the letter. Nix looked at him for a while before grinning widely at the look on his face. After the initial shock of being dumped, the freedom that took over him was astonishing. He started to run in the house yelling,"I'm free! I'm free! Wohoo!"

He heard Lily ask Nix, "I heard about the break up. How is James doing?" 

Nix said," Oh, he is shook to the core. He is grieving!"

"I'M FREE! FREEEEEEEE! WOHOOOO...!!!",  James yelled in celebration. 

Mom, who standing next to Nix, said amused, "You would think, he was kept against his will in the relationship. Idiot!" 

They all laughed fondly and left for trial then. Lily was not going to be here for the cup final match. She was going to be in Spain for a while. Her parents thought she needed to be away from the magical world after the intense trial. For some reason, he felt very sad about it. He chalked it up to missing a friend.

They got into their tent and Lord Black joined them as well. Everyone was very thankful that Lady Black was not joining them. The tent was almost a small place with four large bedrooms. Since, the very unpopular International Director of Quidditch world cup, Royston Idlewind, had banned use of wands inside the premises of Quidditch arena, it was hilarious to see wizards trying to set up tents without magic. James and Nix quickly set up their tents as they had experience in muggle camping, thanks to their muggle school camps. The kids went out to get water and other supplies from the spots mentioned in the handout. There were several magical vendors selling fun items too. 

James excitedly bought ten dissimulator, a new type of magical instrument which issued bright lights and colorful puffs of smoke in national colors and loud cheers in support of their teams. They were fun. They met several of their friends from different places.

James met Kandera, an old friend from their brief time in Scotland.  Kandera was coming to the Yule Ball too. She hasn't changed in personality a bit. She was till fun, wild and outgoing. Her physical appearance from a mud-covered girl to a ridiculously hot girl was something, he was still trying to wrap his mind around. She was attending Beauxbatons in France. Well it certainly suited her. They chatted for a while and she left to be with her friends. Nix looked at him amused and he stuck his tongue out at her. Nix laughed. They had fun getting supplies, cooking muggle way, and then getting dressed for the finals.

The quidditch match started with Syrians mascots creating a huge live painting of the crowd. It was amazing the details and the speed at which the mascots created the painting while classical Arab music played in the background. The Madagascar team's mascots were Veelards, a breed of wood nymph and Veela. They were incredibly beautiful women, with moon-bright skin and white-gold hair that fans out behind them despite the absence of wind. They were hypnotizing and mesmerizing most men in the Quidditch Stadium with their seductive dance, who wanted to impress them. James wanted to impress her. He knew that he should do a swan jump from the their VVIP box, 50 feet above text ground, to get their attention. Nix pulled him back and splashed water on his face. He came to his senses as the the song ended. 

He looked around to see Mom glaring, even if her lips were twitching in amusement, at sheepish dad and embarrassed Lord Black. Nix was grinning widely at him and Sirius had, somehow, managed to pull back both Remus and Reg from sky diving too. James looked at Sirius befuddled.

"How in Merlin's sagging balls, did you not get affected?", James demanded of his best friend

"The only woman I am attracted to, was standing next to me, mate. Plus if you look closely, they are nasty to look at.", Sirius said nonchalantly as he plopped down next to beaming Nix.

Everyone looked at the Veelards and Sirius wasn't wrong. Merlin! When looked closely Veelard's faces looked like cruel-beaked bird-like heads while long scaly wings burst from their shoulders, and they had wooden trunk for feet. 

James shook his head in disgust at being attracted to that and turned around. He sighed. Sirius and Nix were busy snogging the life out of each other. Dad ignored them and resolutely focused as the team members flew in for both teams. James took leaf out his father's book and did same. After a while, lips swollen and happy couple came next to them and started to cheer as the game began. 

The teams formation was brilliant. It was like messy choerographed flying session. It was amazing. The quaffles were passed at a speed that defied the physical capabilities. The beaters were ruthless but the chasers were as smart as anyone. The seekers were circling above like a hawk. The crowd, the cheer and the game entranced James. Merlin! He wanted to be a professional quidditch player. Life would be glorious!

The Syrian team was so well coordinated in their own way that Madagascar team was finding it hard to play against them. They were wonderfully uncoordinated. The goals were scored at such fast rate that it was difficult to follow. James swore to himself to get better in his form because he wasn't even one-sixth of what these players were.

Asswani, the Syrian seeker, suddenly dived down in perfect straight form. He was flying closer and closer to the ground. The Madagascar seeker was not far behind. They were toe to toe as they raced after the snitch, which was now following upward tragectory. 

"Asswani is going to be hit by the bludger!", Sirius yelled.

"No he is not. He is too aware of the surroundings!", James yelled back

"Ouch! That ought to hurt!", Remus yelled as the Madagascar seeker was hit by the bludgers on his shoulder by his own team. The crack could be heard even in their stands. The four quidditch players sympathized with him.

"Oh he is not giving up. Brilliant!", Nix yelled appreciatively. Madagascar seeker was still flying after the snitch with gritted teeth.

The snitch stopped in middle of the pitch and then dropped down in free fall. Both the seekers went after it in sychronization. They both managed to duck both the bludgers coming their way. Except Madagascar seeker took the swirl away from snitch and Syrian towards it. Asswani lurched forward and did his famous one hand grab of snitch. It was glorious. He, literally lept off his broom with one hand on the broom and lept towards the snitch, while flying at maximum speed. Having caught the snitch, he swinged back on his broom in delight! The stadium roared in applause. It was brilliant.

Nix had the glint which he knew meant that she was going to try that move at home. Well, he was going to try some of the moves he saw today too. This was amazing. They all went back to their tent chatting about the match. Remus gloated, as he was the only one who had picked Syria to win since the beginning. James believes that this was where the legend started: 'Do not ever bet against Moony'. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trial will be written in next page. It would be a big chapter. So what do you think?


	39. Trial

Sirius looked around the huge circular room filled with prominent witches and wizards from all over the world. He could see even those families who never bothered to come. This was one of the most high profile cases in recent times and everyone wanted to be part of the history. There were journalists sitting in one corner of the room.

There was a magenta colored robe witch with blonde hair set in elaborate rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles studded with rhinestones, and had thick fingers ending in two-inch nails, painted crimson. She had penciled-on eyebrows and three gold teeth, as well as large, masculine hands. She had a crocodile-skin handbag on her lap and her acid green Quick-Quotes Quill was scribbling rapidly on her notepad as she kept looking at ever. Her eyes were fixed on him and it set him on edge.

Prongs dropped on the bench next to him. He forgot about that weird reporter and looked at Nix and Lily who were sitting on the witness stand. He smiled at them and Nix smiled back.

Nix looked pretty in her charcoal colored formal coat and skirt with stocking. For whatever reason, seeing her in stocking made her hotter. Nix was amused at his reaction. She had tied her hair in ponytail making her look more mature. He winked at her and grinned. Merlin! He wish he was there with her!

"Calm your horny arse!", James muttered. Sirius looked at him and stuck his tongue out. Dad, MaPo, PaPo, Mr and Mrs Evans, and Dumbledore all came as one as sat down. Sirius eyes focused on seven chairs in middle of the room. For whatever reason, it brought a very ominous feeling in him.

Crouch stood up and ordered, "Bring the accused in!" 

Mr Crouch was a grumpy man, who was fit and well built. He projected a strong aura of leadership but for whatever reason, Sirius hoped he never became Minister of Magic. He had a very singular focus which was great for his current job, but it was never good for someone in Minister's position. 

Bella, Rudolph, Rabastan, Bulstrode and Avery were brought in by dementors inside. They had shackles tying their hands and ankles. The candles blew out and darkness filled the room. He felt unhappiness fill him and he breathed in deeply. Sirius shivered and moved closer to James as Reg moved closer to him. 

Dementors were covered in dark hooded cloaks of long ripped black cloth, making them closely resemble wraiths. Their 10 feet tall bodies were grey and decay looking, like a decomposing corpse, and their breath sounds rattled like it was trying to suck more than air out of a room. Their hands were glistening, grey, slimy-looking, claw like and scabbed.

Crouch waved his wand and the dementors went back as a white magical leopard changed them away. His eyes latched on Nix, who was smiling softly at him. He breathed in relief as warmth started to come back again.

He looked at the five. Their haughty expression and proud look had vanished. There was a peculiar look on their face as they looked around. It was as if they were looking at the world for the first time. Sirius felt pity for them. As they sat down, their golden shackles fell, only for the chairs to form another golden shackles around their wrist.

Bella was looking at them with a straight face and she nodded at Dad. Sirius looked up at him and Dad had tears in his eyes; whether from Bella's condition or how the Family's name was being dragged through mud, Sirius wasn't sure. The Carrow twins were brought in from the an inside holding. They looked better but shaken.

"Order! Order! The proceedings for Crime against Bertha Jinkins is in commencement. The accused Mrs Bellatrix Lestrange, Heir Rudolph Lestrange, Mr Rabastan Lestrange, Heir Alaxandar Avery, Heir Joachim Bulstrode (all legal age), Heir Amycus Carrow, Heiress Alecto Carrow (underage), are charged with the following: inhumane torture of Miss Jinkins, intention to murder Miss Jinkins; and use of unforgivable spells on Miss Jinkins, Miss Evans and Heiress Potter. Additional charges on all adult accused: admittance of being members of You Know Who's inner circle and being death eaters. The Wizarding Court is gathered here to decide the punishment to be given to the accused.", Madam Bones said in a crisp voice as everyone settled down.

"It also needs to be noted by the Court, that without timely interruption and help provided by Heiress Potter and Miss Evans, Miss Jinkins will not have survived the ordeal. They are present in the court to provide testimony should the need arise. The trial session starts!", Crouch voice echoed in the Atrium as he slapped the hammer hard on the table. 

"The Wizarding Court prosecutor will be Madam Amelia Bones and the defender of the case will be Anthony Yaxley. The prosecuter may proceed."

Madam Bones stood up regally and said," As per the reports filed by Alastor Moody of the accused interrogations, the seven have not only confessed to torturing and almost killing Miss Jinkins here because she was a muggleborn, but they did it for fun. They have accepted, proudly if I could add, that they have used the unforgivable spells on the victim and the witnesses. They have also declared their support to Lord Voldemort and admitted to being part of inner circle of Lord Voldemort. I would urge the Court to declare the judgement based on merit, instead of emotions." 

Yaxley stood up tall and proud and said haughtily,"I represent my clients who all plead not guilty, except for Bellatrix Lestrange. She has accepted the charges charged against her.". He breathed deeply and walked in center of the said in a very important, pompous voice,

"The magical world is divided right now into two groups, those who believe that magical blood is sacred and should not be shared with filth and muggleborns, and other who have been brainwashed by the magic thieves. We all believe and know in our hearts that association with muggles and their offsprings have only degraded our culture, society and magical abilities. Top students of all years in Hogwarts are Pureblood, some of them are blood traitors but pureblood nonetheless. It clearly shows that blood purity matters."

"These seven are Pureblood children, who were provoked by this muggleborn here to get sympathy and further their sick liberal agenda. This is a disgrace that children,  _Heirs,_ of major Pureblood families, the real magical families, are being thrown into Azkaban with dementors, like common criminals, for merely defending their view point and honor."

"The cry of this young woman that they attacked her because she was muggleborn is baseless. They defended themselves against the vile lies this muggleborn was spreading through the Hogwarts about them. Now, she is crying foul, when she has lost quite spectacularly against them. Miss Jinkins has a reputation for spreading lies, gossips and hyping things up for no reason."

"This is a ridiculous attempt of the liberals to defame the most scared pureblood families to further their agenda. Attacking the witness? Ha! The witness, a blood traitor, attacked the peaceful purebloods. The report from hospital wing of their injuries is proof enough of that!" Sirius felt anger rise in him. Oh, what he wouldn't do to smack the smile of this arsehole's face. 

"I would like the Wizarding Court to show some sense and understand that defending a muggleborn or muggles, will weaken our society further and take us down a path where there will be no pureblood families left. Your decision today will decide whether the wizarding world cares more about itself or the greedy magic thieves.", Yaxley said and sat down.

Sirius turned out to see several members of the court looking thoughtful after that speech. Sirius frowned. Dumb brats!

"Thank you for that very long twisting of facts, Mr Yaxley. You have exceeded your time limit by quite a few margin and expect the fine tomorrow morning. Now then, shall we get ask the victim, Miss Jinkins, to present what happened to her?", Crouch said calmly. 

Bertha went to a seat which appeared near the witness stand. As soon as she sat down, the chair was elevated till everyone could see her properly.

"Miss Jinkins, please relate your story.", Crouch told her softly. Sirius was surprised to see this side of grouchy Crouch. Bertha breathed in deeply and narrated her situation in a trembling voice. Sirius had to say the effect was amazing.

"I was busy making out with my boyfriend, Edward Greenway" There were scoffs around Sirius. Sirius rolled his eyes. Merlin! These stuck ups. He focused on Bertha.

Bertha said with tears filling her eyes,"He went down to congratulate his House on their great victory. I decided to give him his birthday gift. It was his birthday next day. So I went to take the different staircase than he did. I was walking alone on the seventh floor of Gryffindor Tower, when I heard footsteps behind me. Lestranges, Carrows, Bulstrode and Avery were all standing there behind me."

"They grinned when they saw me there, I drew my wand out because I felt threatened by them. Bellatrix Lestrange disarmed me and crucio-ed me. The pain... the pain was so much... it was like she was stabbing me with thousand knifes together.... I screamed and begged her to stop. She did stop, only for her husband and his brother to crucio me together. I passed out from pain. They enervated me and then asked Carrows to practice on me. Like I was practice dummy for them to practice their horrible spells on. Carrows did some dark spells on me. I screamed as several of my bones broke together."

"Bulstrode cursed me with a spell that sliced my stomach. I still.... still have the scar from it. I was bleeding so badly. Avery's curse which increased my pain so much that I screamed loudly and my body was covered in pus. Bellatrix crucio-ed me. The last thing I remember before passing out from pain was "Hey!" from some where behind me.", Bertha sobbed on the stand. The crowd looked very sympathetic.

"Such a blatant lie! She pulled her wand first and is now complaining that she lost. What a sore loser! You could never had defeated any of them, they are purebloods. Far more superior to you. Stop blaming them for showing you, how weak you are.", Yaxley interrupted in between, like the toerag he was.

Crouch looked at him sharply and said crisply,"Mr Yaxley, you will not speak out of turn and will respect the victim. This is your first warning." Bertha's chair was lowered to the ground. Madam Bones consoled her.

Crouch said softly to Bertha,"Thank you for your statement, Miss Jinkins. We are all very glad that you are alive." Bertha nodded and walked to her seat still sniffling. 

"I would like to call on stand Heiress Phoenix Potter.", Madam Bones asked. Crouch nodded. Nix sat on the chair and she was lifted in air. She looked so regal and beautiful that Sirius could only stare.

"Heiress Potter, will you tell us what has happened that night?", Crouch asked her with a small smile.

"Of course, Lord Couch. After the victory of Gryffindor house, my team mate, Marlene Mckinnon, wanted to see stars. Myself and Lily Evans accompanied her to the seventh floor of the Gryffindor Tower (we were exhausted to go to Astronomy tower). We were chatting when we heard a terrible, painful scream of someone. We ran there to see what was happening. We reached the end of corridor and saw the seven accused with their wands out and with very pleased expression, looking at a rapidly bleeding someone (we didn't know who it was at that point) on the floor."

"They had cursed and tortured Bertha so badly that we couldn't identify her. Her breathing was shallow. I knew that there would be confrontation, their body language indicated such. I asked Marlene to get help, she promptly ran off. I decided to engage them or distract them till help came along. Meanwhile, Lily healed Bertha's open wounds as much as she could. They attacked me as I predicted and we battled for a while till Professors came along. We were able to get Bertha help as soon as possible.", Nix said in a very controlled voice but emotions still seeped in right place. 

"You are telling me a third year was able to defeat five NEWT and OWLs level students on her own? LIES!!", Yaxley yelled.

Nix looked at him condescending way and said in calm voice,"Yes." That was all she said and she dismissed him. Sirius laughed because Damn! There were chuckles heard all over the court.

Yaxley smiled creepily and said," You and your brother prance around the school as 'Marauders group'. You are notoronot for pranks and disrupting the Hogwarts peaceful teaching environmental. Did you have your wand out?"

Nix smiled and said,"No, Lord Yaxley, Bellatrix and I chatted for a while before she grew tired of it. Like I stated earlier, my only concern was to distract them till help arrived." The muttering grew in the court. Sirius could see people smiling and giving Nix appreciatative nods. Sirius felt proud.

Yaxley said a bit agitated,"Why would you defend someone on the floor, unless you knew who it was?" 

Nix said politely,"I understand, Lord Yaxley, that it is quite a shock for you to know that people help those they don't know but they do. I didn't know who it was on the floor. All I saw a student bleeding to death and being tortured by these seven. The question in my mind wasn't who the person is or what her house is or even, as you going to ask, her blood status, it was only how to save that person." Yaxley looked surprised and worried. There was buzzing again of admiration for his amazing soulmate. James almost whooped when MaPo shushed him.

Yaxley bellowed,"You are a blood traitor! There is no way you managed to defeat seven scared pureblood wizards on your own. You don't have the magical power to even attempt half of it." 

"Mr Yaxley, who is the greatest wizard of our time?", Nix asked politely. He could see Madam Bones trying to hide a smile.

"Lord Vold....err.. I mean Albus Dumbledore.", Yaxley said. Sirius grinned too. There was no way Yaxley could have said Voldy's name in Wizarding Court. He was wanted terrorist and a criminal. It would incriminate Yaxley as well. 

"Very articulate, My Lord. Now, I wonder if you know his blood status?", Nix asked politely. There were chuckles heard all around the Atrium.

Yaxley became flushed and muttered petulantly, "Half blood."

"But if he is half blood, then he should never have been able to do magic, let alone be the Greatest wizard of our time. Now, lets leave that as an anomaly. He is quite unique in everything. You just said that a pureblood is the real wizard, including blood traitors, as you put it. Since I am pureblood and a blood traitor, it is not that implausible that I could have defeated these seven. Now I understand your specticism. I am sure you have heard of Veritaserum, the truth potion. I would have suggested spell reversal spell but Rabastan doesn't has a wand anymore. It would be unfair on others. If your clients are innocent then they should be able to tell you that.", Nix said sweetly as her eyes glittered. Dumbledore on the bench was smiling widely. He winked at Nix. Yaxley grew red in face.

'Mr Yaxley, do you accept suggestion by the witness?", Crouch asked with a smile. 

"No. They are not criminals and it voilates their rights.", Yaxley said grasping at the straws.

"Heiress Potter, did the accused use unforgivable spells at any point?", Madam Bones asked her calmly.

"Yes, they seem to have quite an affinity for it.", Nix said crisply. Murmur was going around the Atrium. Sirius saw  _Boo_ give Nix an encouraging nod. Sirius gritted his teeth. His annoyance for _Boo_ was not vanishing anytime soon.  

"Lord Yaxley, the evidence is severely against your clients. Do they still plead not guilty?", Crouch asked Yaxley. Yaxley looked at the place where the Lords of the accused children were sitting. They all looked resolutely straight. 

Yaxley cleared his throat and said," My clients are being framed to pull support for the light side. They are not guilty!"

"Very well. Heiress Potter, I thank you for your commendable and heroic actions in saving Miss Jinkins's life. Thank you for your testimony.", Couch told Nix with a smile.

Nix nodded and the chair got lowered to the crowd. She walked regally back to her seat and sat down.  _Boo_ got up and everyone got quite. Right, he was the Prince of the African Wizarding Community and quite powerful here too.

"Heiress Potter has advised a very simple solution of using Veritaserum to get the correct story. It is not unprecedented. This will only help both the parties get to the truth and the Court to give an appropriate ruling. Twisting facts to suit either of the narrative doesn't bode well for anyone. Lets not prolong the trauma for Miss Jinkins.",  _Boo_ said in a very strong commanding voice.

Madam Bones said crisply,"All in favor of using Veritaserum to get the truth from accused, raise your hand." Three-forth of them raised their hands.

"The Wizarding Court is in favor, the motion has passed." Madam Bones moved towards each accused and fed them a tablespoon of Veritaserum. All seven eyes became clouded and their expressions cleared. 

"Did Miss Jinkins provoke you?", Madam Bones asked the seven of them.

"No.", came the reply from the seven as one. Yaxley was fiddling his hand. Everyone else was listening in with interest.

"Did you attack Miss Jinkins unprovoked?", Madam Bones asked them. "Yes" came their reply. The murmur started in the crowd.

"Who started the attack?", Madam Bones asked them.

"I did.", Bella replied. The murmur increased and it sounded like bees were buzzing.

"Why?", Madam Bones asked her.

"She annoyed me, prancing along the school, flaunting her pureblood boyfriend. We wanted to leave a message for all mudbloods that this will be their future because Lord Voldemort will clean our world of filth.", Bella said in unemotional voice. Everyone was looking at the seven with dirty look. Their we're were few who were yelling angrily at them.

"Did you intend to kill Miss Jinkins?", Madam Bones asked.

"No, but had she died it wouldn't have mattered.", Bella replied. The flippant answered caused an uproar in the Atrium. Crouch hammered his hammer on the table to silence everyone.

"Did you used the crucio curse?", Madam Bones asked. "Yes", They all replied, except the Carrow twins. Angry whispers could be heard again.

"Did you use killing curse?", Madam Bones asked. "Yes", they all replied, except the Carrow twins. There were gasps heard all around.

"Were you defeated single-handedly by Heiress Potter?", Madam Bones asked them. "Yes" came their reply. The murmur of respect started to go around the Atrium again. Someone started to clap and then applause started for Nix, who blushed. Lily hugged her proudly.

"Are you Death eaters? And are you branded by his mark?", Madam Bones asked in dead silence.

"Yes.", they all replied, except the Carrow twins. Madam Bones waved her wand and their sleeves were removed. The Dark Mark was branded on half of their arm. The whole Court room broke into whispers and muttering. Dad sighed and shook his head.

"Are you in the inner circle of You-know-who?", Madam Bones voice rang above the whispers in the room.

"Yes.", They all replied, except the Carrow twins. The witches and wizards were angry and yelling at the seven. Madam Bones moved and gave them the anti-Veritaserum to them. Crouch hammered away again and crowd slowly calmed down.

"The Court has heard the truth out of the mouth of accusers. All in favor of finding the accused guilty of charges?", Madam Bones said. Almost everyone raised their hands. 

"The motion has passed and the accused have been charged. Now individual punishments for their crimes. As per the new laws passed by the Court recently, Mrs Lestrange, Heir Lestrange, Mr Lestrange, Heir Bulstrode and Heir Avery, are all eligible for Dementor's kiss. All in favor of this punishment?", Madam Bones asked. Less than half raised their hands. 

"The motion is denied. All in favor of the awarding the accused life sentence in the maximum level security in Azkaban?", Madam Bones asked. Almost everyone raised their hands.

"The motion has been passed. All in favor of penalizing the Heir and Mr Lestranges, Heir Bulstrode and Heir Avery, with penalty of submitting 60% of their wealth as punishment for denying their crimes?", Madam Bones asked. Again, everyone raised their hand.

"The motion has been passed. Gringotts will be informed about the development. All in favor of providing Bellatrix Lestrange Medium security prison as reward for her acceptance to her crimes?", Madam Bones asked. The crowd was divided in half. Crouch and Madam Bones raised their hands.

"The tie has been broken and verdict is that Bellatrix Lestrange will spend her sentence in medium security prison.", Madam Bones annouched. The Black family breathed in relief. No matter what they were family.

"The Carrows, being underage, are exempt from dementor's kiss and life in Azkaban. But they are eligible for three years in minimum security Azkaban. All in favor?", Madam Bones asked. Hardly anyone raised their hands.

"The motion is denied. Those in favor of expelling the Carrow twins from all Wizarding schools and denying them the right of ever using magic?", Madam Bones asked. All rose their hands.

"The Motion is passed. Please bring their wands.", Carrow twins were trashing as they saw Madam Bones break their wands. The Carrows wailed loudly.

"You should know that any practice of magic by you two would be considered as a crime and if caught, will be charged with life in Azkaban. To keep an eye on you, you will charmed by the Aurors before your realize. Any attempt of doing magic and the Ministry will have knowledge of it.", Madam Bones said. The Carrows were weeping pitifully. Madam Bones sat down back in her seat.

"I thank the Wizarding Court for delivering swift justice to Miss Jinkins. I would like to offer thanks and gratitude to Miss Evans and Heiress Potter for their courage and actions, which have saved not only Miss Jinkins life but also managed to remove seven supporters of You know who. The Court is adjourned!", Crouch said gravely as dementors flew in again to take their prisoners. 

"You can capture us for now, Crouch. But remember, he will free us out of the Azkaban and then, there will war like you can't imagine.", Bella said in a deadly voice. The room had gotten quite again.

"And you need to watch your back, Phoenix Potter. You are on his radar and he is not happy with you. I am sad, I would miss him torturing you.", Bella threatened Nix. Nix smiled merrily. Bella bared her teeth but was dragged away by dementors. 

The whole Atrium was silent but then  _Boo_ started to clap for Nix and Lily, who were engulfed in a tight hug by Bertha. They patted her and looked around at the still clapping Atrium.

Nix pushed Lily in front and said out loud,"I may have defeated the seven, but if it weren't for Lily, Bertha could not have been saved. She is the real hero." The applause grew louder and Lily went tomato red. Lily rushed to Nix and they both courtesied and left the Atrium. They all followed the two warriors out. 

* * *

They all apparated back to Potter Manor after having dinner together. MaPo went off to bed straight away saying she was tired as did Reg. James and PaPo had gone with Boo somewhere. He was leaving tonight, so hurrah!

Sirius went to Nix bedroom to sleep. PaPo had removed his protection spell as it did nothing to stop Sirius as it is. PaPo had almost painfully accepted that Sirius would share room with Nix at night. MaPo was highly amused. James had shrugged saying as long as Nix was happy he didn't care. 

Sirius entered and saw Nix freeing her hair  from her braid after haphazardly leaving her heels and coat on the room's floor. He loved how cluttered her room was. The whole house was cluttered. Potters hated organized household. 

PaPo often said "Unless the house is cluttered, it not really lived in.". It was true, after all. Their house was clean and shiny with not a thing out of place. It wasn't lived in, it was stayed in, like a hotel. He removed his robes and sighed in relief.

"Can I?", Sirius asked Nix, who paused mid way pulling down her stocking on her bed. Those goddamn stocking has been teasing him, since she wore them this morning. Nix smiled and lifted one of her legs towards him in permission.

Sirius gently grabbed her leg and pulled the stocking end down, slowly. Nix shook her head at the aroused expression he surely had. He lowered his head and kissed the skin on her leg that the stocking was revealing. His other hand was slowly stroking her thigh. Nix started to breath heavily as he removed the second stocking. 

He sat on the floor next to her bed and took one of her feet. She looked curiously at him. He gently started to massage her feet to remove the strain from wearing heels. 

Nix looked at him so softly and muttered, "oh!"as she understood what he was doing. She groaned in relief when he massaged one particularly large knot. He kept massaging her feet and then took her other feet. After massaging her feets for a while, he started to kiss her beautiful legs and came up her body. 

He skipped the skirt and moved to her shirt. Sirius was adamant that if Sirius can't pleasure her there and Nix can't either. Why should he have all the fun? He already hated the fact that he had cum so many times already and he has yet to see her 'O' face. So no, the down area was a no-no for both.

Sirius slowly opened her blouse and removed it. He unhooked her bra as he looked in her wanton eyes. Gently, he pushed her down on the bed. He started by kissing her on her forehead and then her nose, her cheeks and her eyes. He looked at her and saw her smile fondly at him. Her eyes were brimming with love for him.

He kissed her slowly as he massaged her breasts. She moaned and groaned in their kiss. She did a sudden move and he was on his back with Nix on top of him. She looked like a goddess, with open wild hair, heaving breasts, swollen reddened lips and wild lust for him. He swore because fuck if this wasn't the hottest thing he has seen in his life.

She grinned and tucked at his shirt. He sat and wrapped his arms around Nix's bare back. He lifted his arms up and Nix pulled his shirt off. She gently pushed him down and kissed him as she slowly trailed her hand through this chest. He jerked against her beautiful arse. She broke the kiss and started to kiss him along his jaw, and neck. She bit his collarbone and he groaned. 

She rubbed his nubin and he hissed. She started to kiss, suck and lick every inch of his chest with a skill that was impressive. He needed to.. bloody hell... he flipped them over and looked at her.

He hated that he was already ready to blow his load off and he can't give her the same pleasure. She smiled and kissed him passionately. Her hands were digging in his back, creating a very pleasant sensation. She mewled when he massaged her boobs again. Nix broke away from kiss and kissed his groaning point with abandon. His hips had their own rythm. He captured her boobs in his mouth and sucked hard. Nix almost came off the bed as she moaned. 

He kept sucking her breasts as he reached his high. He left her boob with a pop as he came with a loud groan. He saw stars as he collapsed on her chest. He almost passed out at how intense this climax was.

He regained control, to feel Nix's hand slowly tracing his back and giving soft kisses on his shoulder and neck. He sighed in peace and love that flowed through him.

He pulled up a little on his forearms and smiled at her. He kissed her everywhere on her face. Capturing her lips in a soft kiss, he rolled to get her on top of him. After the kiss ended, he tucked her strands of her hair behind her ear. 

"Bloody hell! That was hot!", Sirius said happily. Nix chuckled. Sirius's eyes got fixed on her amazing breasts. They were not too big and not too small. Just right size. They felt amazing in his mouth. 

"Come on horny, let's sleep. You want to sleep on top of me or me on top of you?", Nix asked him softly. Sirius rolled them  over again and laid his head between her boobs. He softly kissed her boobs' side.

Nix said amused,"You really love them, don't you?"

"They are very, very nice.", Sirius said sleepy as he nuzzled his head against her chest. Nix chuckled and yawned.

"We will need at least a king size bed with all the rolling and flipping we do.", Sirus said tiredly. Nix chuckled. She patted him and Sirius looked her. Oh right, her skirt. He got up and they both went to change. They came back topless and took their original position. 

"We should totally sleep like this every night.", Sirius said sleeply after a while.

"My brother will have a heart attack.", Nix muttered sleeply as she ran her fingers through his hair. If his tail was visible, it would be waggling so badly right now.

"He will survive.", Sirius muttered somehow. Nix hummed and they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"You're incredibly strong, your skin is scared and you disappear every month. I know what you are...", James said dramatically to Remus Lupin.

Remus said as dramatically, as if fearful of the outcome,"Say it. Say it out loud."

James leans into him and whispered,"A werewolf!"

Remus eyes widened and he swore. Sirius added from his place,"A Swearwolf!"

The three boys started to crack up. Nix sighed in sufferance and said with a fond smile,"Why did I let you people watch Twilight?*" Then started to laugh too. 

"Oh I know. We are going to watch Bambi, now.", Remus said with a twinkle in his eyes. James groaned but got up to start the movie.

Sirius was feeling so peaceful and calm now that  _Boo_ was gone. Bloody perfect arsehole. It was annoying that there was nothing that he could find that a was fault in that perfect man. He was nice, friendly and hilarious. Even, Sirius couldn't stop from laughing at his jokes. He was powerful wizard with equally powerful and influential family. Despite all that, he was humble, progressive and a liberal. He was also developing cure for his best friend previously incurable disease.

Sirius had been so ticked off, when he woke up one night to find Nix gone. He got up to see where she was. He wondered if she had a nightmare. Only to find her chatting with  _Boo_ in the hall.  _Boo_ looked perfect with his bedhead and half shirt. His fitness was very visible. He was looking at Nix so softly. He spied on them for a while and then went to their bed in anger. He sat there petulantly.

Nix came in after a while and was surprised to see him up and well.. angry. Nix rose her eyebrows and smiled. She came and sat next to him. The grim smelled  _Boo_ on her. 

"Padfoot?", Nix asked in worry. 

Sirius looked at her and asked in strained voice," What were you talking about so late at night? And with wards?"

Nix confusion cleared and she shook her head. "We were actually talking about werewolf cure. The potion that we are giving Remus... If our previous results are correct, then by next year he should be cured.", Nix said happily.

Sirius mouth popped open and he said," Wh...what? Are you sure? That's fantastic!!" He hugged her as he laughed in delight. Nix laughed too.

"We warded the area because it wasn't a surity. Longer affected may taken longer. That's why we are not telling them this, yet. We are waiting.", Nix said happily. Sirius kissed her in happiness. This was great news. Remus won't ever have to suffer like that ever again. He could get a job, a family and a respectful life. This was great!

Nix smiled in amusement as she ran her fingers through his hair. He smiled in happiness as he thought of the life Remus could have.

"Why are you so jealous of Boo?", Nix asked him curiously.

Sirius sat up and Nix did too. "Because if it wasn't for the bond, you would have been his girlfriend and I would be the one nursing the heartbreak.", Sirius admitted.

"Why do you think that?", Nix asked, still curious.

Sirius sighed and said,"He is perfect! He is handsome, intelligent, funny and humble. Your parents won't have had any problems with making relation with the.m because it would have been a good match. He was perfect for you and I can't help but feel jealous."

Nix held his face in her hand and said lovingly," You stupid idiot! You don't see yourself, do you? You, Sirius, are every women's dream man! You are so sweet, caring and loving. You never demand anything. You accept me for who I am. You found spells so that I don't suffer from pain, whether it is from my periods or wearing heels. I am pretty sure you have spells memorized in case I have a headache too." Sirius nodded sheepishly.

"Do you know rare and amazing that is? You don't want me to go down on you because you can't do that to me. How many boys can say that? You took my dad's charm on me, not as an hindrance, but as a challenge to.prove to my dad that you derserve his daughter. Who else can do that?", Nix said with adoration. She pecked him quickly.

"You never shied away from me, even when you knew I was cursed. Even without the bond, you would have done everything to make me happy. You know how I know? Because of what you did for Moony. You never pressured me to say out loud that you were my soulmate because you understood my reasons. You are amazing, Sirius."

"You are so hot and handsome. Sometimes, I can't breath because you look out of the world and I can't believe my goddamn luck that I have you as mine. You always make sure that you give me as much pleasure as possible. Your smile has the power to take away a my pain."

"Even without the bond, I would have been love and awe of you. You are an idiot to think otherwise.", Nix said in adoration. Sirius had tears in his eyes and he hugged her. 

"Yeah?", Sirius asked her as his voice broke.

"Yeah!", Nix said confidently as she kissed him fiercely. Sirius melted in her kisses. Sirius wasn't jealous of Boo but he was still annoyed with perfect  _Boo._ But he was glad of what his jealousy brought forward. Nix was as in love with him as he was..

"Hey? Where did you go?", Nix asked him quitely as they watched Bambi attempting his first steps.

"Last night.", Sirius with smirk and Nix blushed furiously.

"You mean when...", Nix muttered.

"If you don't say, when we were sleeping, I am going to scream!", James butted in. 

Sirius grinned teasingly and said,"Well... After a while yes."

James scowled and muttered some curse words as everyone laughed. They started to watch the movie. Sirius started to pepper Nix's neck with kisses. He loved teasing her like this when he knew she couldn't make a noise. Nix looked at him in mock anger and he kissed her. She sighed in their kiss and Sirius grinned widely.

"Man, can you believe forth year will be starting next week!", James said with wonder as he turned to look at the snogging couple.

"OI! Can you two not suck each other's mouth for few minutes?", James said annoyed.

"No.", Sirius and Nix said together and then started to laugh. Remus joined in as James pretended to be offended, even if his smiles were twitching.

"Last year was huge, wasn't it?", Nix said as laughter died. They all nodded.

"This year it is supposed to be more difficult than previous.", Nix said.

"I am wondering what prank we can do this year. You will pass, so thats moot.", James said happily as he wondered the plans.

"Yes, it is surprising that you managed to pass in all previous years!", Moony said with mock surprise.

"Hey! I am very talented person! I topped this year too, thank you very much!", James said proudly.

"Professors have clearly lost their marbles!", Remus said with concern. 

"Oh bugger off! This year is going to be great!", James exclaimed happily. Sirius knew James meant by Nix being free of curse. He hugged her closer as she smiled fondly at her brother.

"Hmm... Plus it gives Prongs a chance of making a new girlfriend.", Nic said teasingly.

James nodded happily. Remus asked curiously,"So no chance of getting back with Ava again?"

"Nah. She was great and we had fun. But, it has run it's course. No need to drag it out.", James said casually as they nodded and turned to watch the movie.

"Or, you were so cute, when you a baby, Prongs!", Nix said teasingly as Bambi tried to walk and fall down.

"I am still cute! What do you mean by when I was a baby?", James said in mock indigantion.

"I don't know. That is cute, this is more awkward weirdness.", Sirius said with a smile as he pointed to James, who had grown couple of feets.

"Oh I will show you awkward weirdness!", James saying this tackled Sirius to the floor, where they had a mock 'sirius' fight ,with Nix and Remus cheering on. Reg and MaPo came in and joined in the cheering. Sirius grinned, as he tickled James mercilessly and thought 'Yeah this was life!'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I was stuck. How was it?  
> Next up forth year and will James realize his likeness for Lily?


	40. New horizons

"Snape, do you remember the time when you dared me ..", James said with a smirk to Sev.

Sev said, dismissively," I never dared you anything, Potter.". Sev continued to study and Lily was wondering what was going on.  

Remus, who was next to her, snorted and said," He knows you enough to realize that daring you anything is suicide." 

James grinned and said confidently,"Yes but remember, when you said that your house had a Giant snake as its symbol.". Sev nodded cautiously.

Sirius, Nix and Remus were watching the interaction with humor. James was smiling mischievously. It did something to her. James had grown taller this summer and buffer too. He was close to 5 foot 4 inch now, already. He looked even more boyish yet handsome at the same time. Lily had a hard time trying to remain unaffected by him, something Sev did not appreciate.

"Then you said that the possibility of your house having a Giant Snake is huge. Hell, it is rumored that a huge snake was left by Salazar Slytherin in Hogwarts. But there was no chance of Gryffindor having a Giant Lion. I decided to prove you wrong.", James completed, smugly.

The color on Sev's face drained as a very, very loud roar was heard throughout the castle. So powerful was the roar that the castle walls shook and the chandelier wobbled dangerously. Sev ran to the window facing the forest and screamed in a very undignified manner. 

"You idiot! You enlarged a Lion to become 50 feet tall! Are you insane?!", Sev yelled as his eyes stared outside in dread.

"Possibly. But I proved you wrong.", James said happily as he watched in delight as everyone in the castle screamed. 

A huge lion was coming close to Hogwarts, looking threatening and hungry. His each step shook the castle and his breath was rattling the window panels wildly. Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore all came towards the window. Apart from the Marauders and Professor Dumbledore, every one was looking at the Giant Lion in horror, surprise or fear. She saw Peter hide behind the bookshelves. The Lion roared loudly and hats of everyone flew away by it's impact.

The lion was so huge that the floor to roof window of library only covered half his eye, as he looked inside the castle. The Lion pulled back and bared his really, really pointy and sharp teeth in front of the school, threateningly. Lily remembered thinking that it was such a unique way to die. 'Eaten by a Giant Lion'.

"James! How could you be such an idiot? This could kill someone, young man. This is ridiculous. Your pranks and small disturbances are fine, but this is completely irresponsible! How could you? There is a reason Giants and Dragons are kept on separate islands! Stop this right now or detention for whole year!", Professor McGonagall screamed at James, who looked down. 

Lily could see him biting his lips as he prevented himself from laughing out loud. Lily frowned. How could he find this amusing? This was irresponsible and could hurt someone. Nix started to laugh, followed by Sirius, Remus and James. Professor McGonagall looked unimpressed by theam and opened her mouth to scold again.

Professor Dumbledore placed a calming hand on her and said, amused,"I assume it is the magnification charm combined with sound and wind charm? And the 'earthquake' is due to rippling and wave charm?" 

Marauders nodded happily, with proud smirks. Everyone's mouths popped open. That was impressive... To create an illusion so good with such brilliant effect. Damn! James just got hotter. How was that possible?!?

James grinned widely and said," Happy Halloween, everyone!" In stunned silence that followed. At the time, Nix, Sirius and Remus waved their wands and the 'Lion' turned out to be a orange cat, transfigured to look like a Lion. The cat was so cute with the Lion mare. Everyone looked at the adorable cat, incredulously. Sev was almost pouting. 

Slowly people started to clap, whistle and cheer for them. Lily was cheering as well. This was an incredible display of magical powers and ingenuity. Sev scoffed at them but Lily saw his eyes would wander over to Nix, every now and then. 

"Merlin! You four!", Professor McGonagall chided them. The twins hugged her and they could see her melt under the warmth of their combined hugs. Professor McGonagall smile ruefully. 

Lily heard her mutter softly to them, "You four, will give me early grey hair. " 

James said sweetly,"You would rock that look too, Aunt Minne. You are awesome and a badarse." 

Professor McGonagall kissed James on cheek and then, twisted his ear. 

"Aww!", James pouted. Nix snorted and moved away from Professor McGonagall's arm range. Lily smiled at how cute James looked. Lily sighed. She was really infatuated with him, wasn't she?

"You four will serve detention for causing disruption in middle of the day. We will discuss it tomorrow after my class.", Professor McGonagall said sternly to the Marauders.

The  four nodded. James looked hilarious trying to nod while his ear was still being twisted by Professor McGonagall. James looked at Professor McGonagall with a puppy dog look. Professor McGonagall sighed in fond exasperation.

"Yes, Jamie. It was brilliant work of magic and you are a good boy.", Professor McGonagall said with a smile, as she ruffled his already shaggy hair. James grinned brightly, hugged her and went towards his twin.  

Professor Dumbledore, who was watching all this with a wide grin, said happily," Well now that is resolved, everyone back to their work." Saying this he glided away. Professors went too. She saw Professor Flitwick wink at the four, as he was leaving. 

"That was brilliant!", Nix said happily as she kissed her brother's cheeks. He had his arms around on her waist and was preening.

Sirius laughed and said, delighted," Merlin! Everyone's faces when the 'Lion' came towards them was brilliant!"

"I told you, it was a brilliant idea!", James said smugly.

"Yes, it is very surprising that it came from you.", Remus said baffled and in wonder.

"Oi! Shut it, you!", James said as he pounced for Remus. The two started to playfully wrestle, while the other two cheered. Soon the four were kicked out of Library by Madam Pince. Lily was still smiling, when Sev looked at her with a sour face. 

"That was incredibly dangerous of them. I am sure it was Lupin, who told them to use the cat instead of an actual Lion. Knowing, Potter and Black, they would have wanted it to be a Lion!", Sev said scathingly.

"Hmm... And your foul mood has nothing to do with seeing Sirius and Nix in the corridor last night?", Lily asked teasingly.

It was sad that the girl Sev liked, had no chance of ever reciprocating. Nix and Sirius were the 'It couple' and no one had any chance with either of them. She had heard girls whine over it in the washroom everyday. That didn't mean she won't tease Sev about it. And sure enough, Sev had slight blush on his face.

Sev said dismissively," Why do I care if they were snogging each other's faces off?" He refused to talk any more. 

Lily grinned as she thought about last night. Sev and Lily were coming back from Library. This year has been difficult on everyone, except the Marauders. The Marauders still hardly ever studied for the school syllabus. They would study but about different things that interested them. It was so annoying for everyone. Most of her year was spending their free time in the library trying to catch up to the slightly complex syllabus, while the Marauders were off having fun at the lake, flying or just pranking about.

"I like this year's charm syllabus. I mean, it is a bit difficult and takes more concentration, but it is fun.", Lily said conversationally.

Sev nodded and said,"Potion needs more concentration too, but we are finally learning some complex potions."

Lily said with smile," Were you there when Sirius scared his brother?" Sev shook his head.

"Well Reg was eating his dinner. Sirius crept behind him and said in Darth Vader voice 'I am your father, Reg.'. Reg jumped high in the air and screamed, while toppling his drinks and food everywhere. Then, proceeded to scream at hysterical Sirius for good 20 minutes.", Lily explained jovially. Sev had a smile on his face too.

They both paused as they heard moaning coming from the corridor. Lily wondered if the events of last year would repeat again. She wasn't sure Sev and she, could take on the kind of opposition Nix annihilated last year. They moved cautiously towards the sound and froze.

Sirius was the one moaning as Nix was sucking and licking his neck with passion. Jesus! This looked so erotic. Nix was moaning slightly along with Sirius and it was just... sensual. Sirius's hand grabbed Nix's arse. Nix moaned loudly as she rubbed against Sirius. Oh shit! Sirius's err... Member was very visible and hard. Jesus! He was rubbing it against her thighs.

Lily gasped when Sirius changed their position in one movement and now, Nix was the one against the wall, moaning. Sirius kissed her passionately and it didn't look like Nix was holding back. It literally looked like they were devouring each other. Lily was feeling hot all over. Nix's hands found Sirius's shirt helm and ripped the shirt open. Buttons popped everywhere and his extremely fit chest came into view. Sirius groaned against her mouth and started to lick and suck her neck with vigor.

"Sirius!", Nix panted with so much need and lust that Lily turned beetroot red. Sirius growled and pulled them inside an empty classroom. Sirius shut the door with a snap and they were gone. Lily and Sev stood rooted there for while both flushed and then, left, after saying awkward bye.

Sev mood was tanked since morning. He refused to accept his crush on Nix. Lily could understand. The twins were cyclones. They were as fascinating to watch from afar as they were terrifying up close. They made their own path and uprooted every opposition in their way. They were both exceedingly smart, nice and hot. They were both unattainable for reasons... Lily came to her present surrounding, when Remus came back. 

"Madam Pince let you in?", Lily asked Remus in amusement.

"Yeah, she likes me. She thinks that I made friends in wrong crowd. I think she is trying to separate me from them as much as possible.", Remus said with a grin.

"Ah, she won't succeed.", Lily said with a teasing tone.

"True. Those three are the most stubborn people on Earth.", Remus said with a fond smile. Lily grinned fondly too. They both ignored Sev's grunt of approval and continued completing their homework.

* * *

"And GRYFFINDOR HAS WON THE SECOND MATCH IN A ROW!! LOOKS LIKE THE FAREWELL YEAR OF JOHN WATSON WILL BE A SUCCESS TOO!", Remus voice roared as Gryffindor won against Hufflepuffs by bare margin, but margin nonetheless.

"We have to celebrate this win with firewhishkey!!! I think we are old enough!", James said with a gigantic smile as he walked with a spring in his steps towards Gryffindor common room. 

Sirius nodded and said, "I have a whole crate of firewhishkey in my trunk.". Lily looked at him incredulously.

Nix grinned and said,"Finally, you get to use it, after keeping it in your trunk for four years!" Sirius laughed happily as he kissed Nix's cheeks. Nix blushed.

It was so interesting that despite being snogged by Sirius everywhere, no matter the company, Nix still blushed when he kissed her cheeks. Sirius would always get a wonder and happy look on his face when that happened. They were just too cute together.

Sirius had grown tall too. He was as tall as James. Sirius was on a leaner side. That is not to say that he wasn't strong. Sirius was the strongest of the three. He, on his own,  had beaten six beaters from other houses in tug of war. His voice had gotten a bit deeper too. He was giving a run to models and actors everywhere.

Sirius was currently eyeing back of Nix with an appreciative small smile. Nix looked back and held her hand up towards Sirius in invite to take it. Sirius, with his damn heart eyes, gladly took it and they both walked towards the dorm together.

James sighed and shook his head. Lily looked at him in question. 

"As a brother, I am conflicted. I know how happy Nix is with him but as a brother, it is also annoying thinking of them being 'romantic'. She is my little sister and he is my best friend; and they both are extremely affectionate, which makes me constantly happy and puckish.", James said in a helpless manner. 

Lily patted his arm in comfort, definitely not because she wanted to see if those forearm muscles were real or not. She could understand James's dilemma. James was one of the most over protective brothers, she has ever seen. He broke up with his girlfriend because she had issue with Nix. But he was unique in a way that he never stopped Nix from doing anything, he supported her but he worried about her too. It was endearing.

They reached the common room and a loud roar greeted them upon entering. Soon enough, the three were swept away in sea of people congratulating them. Lily smiled and went and sat next to Reg. The Black brothers have developed a tradition. Whenever the other's team won, the brother will be there in the common room to celebrate. It didn't matter if the losing team was their own. They celebrated the success of other. Both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor have accepted it as a norm. Lily thought it was sweet gesture. 

Reg smiled as he saw her. Lily grinned widely at his shirt, which had a Phoenix flying in and out at high speed with words flashing 'You can't beat a Phoenix in a flight, idiot!'

"Supporting your future sister in-law, I see. Not your brother?", Lily asked Reg, teasingly.

Reg grinned widely,"Na. This match I was supporting Nix, last match was Sirius and the upcoming one, would be James. In finals, I will support Remus. Gotta support them all!"

Lily chuckled and nodded. They both started to discuss about games, books and studies. Reg almost fell over, when Sirius collapsed on him, in a hug. Lily snorted. Reg just sighed and hugged his brother properly. James and Remus fell on both them soon after. The brothers groaned at additional weight. Shrugging it off, they had a group hug. Nix sat next to her and grinned widely.

"This should be good. Sirius has brought his firewhishkey out. I think the three already had a sip.", Nix said happily.

"You didn't?", Lily asked in surprise.

"I will after eating something.", Nix said with shrug. Lily nodded at the logic. The girls started to eat food and happily chatted with Marlene and Mary. 

Sirius came to Nix with a shy look. Nix looked adoringly at Sirius and smiled at him. 

"A chatir, wanna take a sip now. We all have almost drunk half bottle each by now.", Sirius asked her softly. Nix smiled and nodded. Sirius got excited, like a puppy, and brought the firewhishkey out. 

Nix took a tentative sip and then shrugged as she took a big swing of it. Sirius was watching Nix neck with a wide look. Lily felt a blush creep up her face. Jesus, these two!

Nix passed the bottle to her and Lily took a sip and chocked. Her eyes sort of burned but then, the firewhishkey felt good and was warming her insides. She took a big gulp too. For some reason, Lily felt the need to giggle. Before she knew it, Nix and Lily were giggling hysterically.

Remus, Sirius and James had all downed a bottle each. Sirius and James were doing parkour, while Remus was having serious discussion about how amazing broccoli was with Lily. Reg was trying to calm Sirius and James down but in end gave up and had a deep discussion with a giggly Nix and happy Marlene about sexuality. Turns out, Marlene has recently figured out she is into girls more than boys. 

A fast song started to play and they all entered the floor and danced. The light looked so spiny and everything felt great. She thinks for a while she danced with James. They danced till their legs couldn't anymore.

Nix, Lily, Marlene and Mary, all collapsed on the sofa as their high wore off. They all grinned happily. Nix conjured four bottles and filled them with water. The four drank the whole bottle of water and waited for their heads to stop spinning. 

The girls went after the happy, extremely high  boys, as they ran into corridor, cheering and causing chaos. They came back, tired and amused, at the antics of the three. Marlene and Mary left for bed, while Nix and Lily decided to put the three boys to bed. Reg had left a while back. The three were still high as a kite.

"Remus, what are you doing?", Lily asked with a laugh. Remus was pressed against the Gryffindor common room window. His nose was squashed against the window as he swayed and kept muttering 'pretty, pretty lights'.

Remus said happily,"Glass is called glass because its made of glass. It's like how orange the fruit is called orange because its orange. Wait, is it the other way around?*" Remus ended his epiphany in confusion. Nix laughed and then groaned as both Sirius and James fell on her.

Lily grinning widely and asked Remus, "Remus? How high are you, exactly?"

Remus said proudly and a bit confused,"5 feet 6 inch.*" Nodding his head in agreement to his words. Lily and Nix grinned. James hugged his twin close and yawned. 

"I lobe you..", James declared to Nix happily and looply. Nix smacked a kiss on his cheek and giggled. James grinned widely and closed his eyes as he rested against his sister. Lily smiled softly at the them.

Sirius said in wonder, "I just calculated. I'm 50 kilos and I just ate 800 gm of cheesecake. That means I'm 0.16% cheesecake. I feel bloated, though.*" Sirius said the last part as he rubbed his belly and looked at Nix with a whine. Nix smiled indulgently and rubbed his belly. 

Sirius eyes perked up and his tongue almost rolled out. He started to affectionately rub Nix's face. Nix rolled her eyes and patted his head. 

"You are so pretty. So nice. Let's get married!", Sirius said happily.

Nix nodded and said placidly, "Sure, just not yet. I don't have a dress." 

Sirius nodded and said sagely," Dresses are very important. It is weird though. Our skin is like a dress on our ske... skelevon. So we are ess.. essen... essenvually wearing a dress over a dress.*" Nix grinned at her drunk boyfriend and patted her thighs. Sirius smiled excitedly and laid his head down on her lap and closed his eyes in content.

Slowly, the two boys were in deep sleep. Remus continued to look at the pretty lights as he laid down next to Nix's seat and closed his eyes. He was out soon too.

"What are we going to do with these idiots?", Lily asked Nix, who giggled. She was surrounded by the three completely knackered out boys.

"I was thinking of drawing on their faces with these pens which will absorb in their skin and only appear after 12 hours.", Nix said with an evil grin. Lily nodded and the two girls got down to work.

"This will be hilarious!", Lily chortled. Nix nodded. The girls left the scribbled boys and went to their beds.

* * *

James woke up next day with a groan. Oh Merlin! Since when did the sun get so bloody bright. Ouch! It hurts. It hurts to think. It hurts to open his eyes and his head is splitting in pain. What happened last night? 

Oh right. The boys had downed a bottle of firewhishkey as a bet, to see who can drink more. This pain was so not worth the high and headache that followed. Did he hug Lily? Shit! Oh crap! He thinks so slow danced with her! James felt a blush rise from his neck. He needs to apologize to her.

"Oh Merlin! This hurts!", Sirius groaned from beside him as he massaged his head. 

"What the hell? Owww..", Remus got up too. 

"Where is Buttercup? I swear, I remember falling asleep on her lap.", Sirius asked as he rubbed his eyes and then groaned.

"I think she went back to bed.", James said in a raspy voice. The three fell back on their seats with a groan as every muscle in their body was protesting heavily. What did they do? Parkour?

"MORNING!!", Nix and Lily said loudly and cheerfully. The boys groaned and placed their arms on their faces.

"Sis, shushh... Merlin! You can be loud!", James chided Nix as his head pounded.

Nix musical laugh reached him. Even that was increasing his headache. He felt Nix kissing his cheeks and running her fingers through his hair. James hummed and hugged her.

"Here. Drink the hangover cure.", Nix said softly as she handed him a potion bottle. James drank it without a pause. He opened his eyes to see Sirius drink the potion. Nix was sitting on Sirius's lap. James sighed in annoyance.

"You two are angels, you know that!", Remus said as he hugged Lily.

James felt some heat in his heart as he watched them. This was weird why was he angry that Remus was hugging Lily. They were both friends and it should not bother him. He shook his head and chalked it up as side effect of firewhishkey.

Nix chuckled and asked them," Do you remember what you guys did last night?" They all shook their heads.

"You ran outside to Aunt Minnie's room wearing those shirts 'If lost return to Minnie'.*", Nix chortled.

James looked down and yes, they were still wearing the said shirt. He wondered how he didn't notice Aunt Minnie's disapproving face, which was printed on their shirts. The shirt was making him dizzy. They had charmed it to flash 'Minnie the badarse!' followed by her disaaprobdis face, every few seconds.

"You three have a detention tonight with her, FYI.", Lily said with a wide grin as the boys groaned again.

"On the way back, Padfoot was having sirius fight with the stairs, as it kept changing its position.* That was hilarious. Meanwhile, Moony was having intense debate about tea with the Drag Portrait. Prongs was doing parkour in the corridor. That was actually what got you all detention.", Nix said with laugh. 

Sirius buried his face in her chest and purred, when Nix scratched his head. Bloody hell! His head was killing him. 

"Merlin! We should all leave for breakfast. That should help with the pounding headache.", James said in rough voice as he ruffled his hair. He saw Lily go a bit red for some reason. His brain was too incapacitated to understand why. The boys all got up with difficulty and went for breakfast.

The greasy food helped but the chatter in the Great Hall was annoying him. Merlin! Can't these people have a quiet breakfast? Do they have to be so loud? His annoyance slowly evaporated as the food and hangover potion worked their charm in his body.

"Why do you two not look as hammered as us?", James grumpily demanded of his twin and Lily, who was looking very pretty today.

"Because we ate before we drank and then we paced the drinks, instead of downing it in one go." ix said patiently.

"Plus we drank a bottle of water before going to bed.", Lily said cheerfully as she dug into her scrambled eggs. 

Remus groaned and said,"I knew I should have gotten drunk with girls, instead of these two dunderheads."

Sirius and James looked mock offended. Sirius said teasingly," Moony dear, you are forgetting it was you who decided to make it interesting. You challenged us that you could drink more than all of us."

James said with a matching grin,"You suggested we should totally meet Professor McGonagall and tell her she is a badarse."

Sirius added happily," So in all, it is your fault we have detention." 

Moony frowned and then covered his face as he groaned. James grinned and looked at his twin, who was watching G3. 

G3 and Nix were searching something. He knew that much. She was reading books that made her nauseous and creep out. James had asked her to not read them if they were so bad. But Nix was adamant that it was essential for what she has to do. James lost count of number of times Nix would come to cuddle or bunk with him, during the summer holiday. 

James knew that G3 has found something and whatever it was, was very dark and threatening because G3 has asked for  _Pradyado's_ helps. _Pradyado_ was more than happy to help his family. But it sacred James. It has to be dire enough for G3 to willingly ask  _Pradyado_ for help. 

Nix nodded to G3 and started to eat her food. James tried very hard to not let this disturb him. His sister was safe and alive. She was alive and she could handle whatever it is. She has promised to tell the moment she thinks it was danger free. She was alive!  But...

James shook his head as John came to tell them about the new practice schedule for the upcoming match against Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw team, this year, was good team and have won one and lost one. Gryffindor team were going to win the quidditch cup. It was last year for John and they wanted it to be special.

He saw Nix looking at John and Sherlock with a frown. Once John left, he looked at her quizzically.

"Do you think Sherlock is in love with John?", Nix asked him curiously. Sirius chocked on his drink and James was thankful that he didn't spat it out. James was in direct line of fire.

"Possibly. I don't think John is though.", James answered back. Nix looked at them again. James realized now that the looks shared by them were almost similar to how Sirius and Nix looked at each other,  just less intensely.

"I think he is. He is just afraid. John is a muggleborn, where being gay is not acceptable like in wizarding world. Hmm", Nix said with a concentrated look. 

"Are we doing something about it?", Sirius asked curiously.

"Maybe, lemme check the waters first.", Nix said simply. But James knew she was forming a plan. This was exciting.

James attention was caught by Isabella Broad, 4th year Ravenclaw, who winked at him. James grinned back. Nix looked entertained as Lily looked put off. For whatever reason, he felt very happy seeing that.

Then Nix laughed really loudly and almost collapsed on the floor. Everyone around them started to laugh too. The three boys were looking in confusion at to what. Nix very helpfully conjured a mirror and then the three were laughing too.

On their faces, there were very bad drawings of animals, people and some writing. They knew the girls had decided to prank them. It was good. Life was good. And his sister was alive! Everything was fine.

* * *

"Horcruxes? That is a very, very dark magic, Al. Are you sure?", Grindelwald asked in concern. 

Al nodded and cryptically said,"I have proof."

Grindelwald frowned when Al didn't elaborate. This was massive. He knew this phony Voldemort  guy was a powerful wizard but to form six horcruxes! That was twisted beyond anything. Grindelwald realized that he was being a hypocrite but he wanted to move the wizards into open, but this Volmort-whatever wanted to rule the wizarding world. Grindelwald knew Lordy guy wont care less if the wizarding world was on fire, as long as he got what he wanted.

"Nix has to be the one in hunt? You can leave her out of this and do it on your own. There is no need to endanger her." Grindelwald told Al.

Al shook his head in defeat. "She made me swear on her life that I would involve her in all hunts. She hasn't shown me all memories, yet. She has given me enough to start but she won't give me rest.", Al said with a frown

"Why? She trusts you more than her life. Why wouldn't she trust you with something this important?", Grindelwald asked in concern. Had something happened between the two, which he didn't know about?

"She.. she saw me die in her memories while trying to destroy them. Apparently, I got carried away. She is afraid that I will do the same thing again.", Al said with a fond exasperated smile

Ah, that made sense. His great granddaughter loved her G3 too much. It was obvious, she won't want him to jeopardize his life. But to put your granddaughter's life in danger for something that can be avoided. Andrian, their powerful son, could not be saved due to the type of disease he had. But there was no need to put her life in danger.

"She won't budge. She is adamant about it. I need to keep her safe. I can't  do it alone. I was wondering, if... if you would help us? You would still spend your life in this prison, except for the time, when you would be out with us. I ....I am choosing to trust you. If you..if you break the trust, our whole family, including the kids, will break up all ties with you.", Al said strongly.

Grindelwald nodded and smiled fondly at Al, the love of his life..his soulmate," Yes. I swear on my magic that I will not break your trust, Albus  Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and do everything to protect our great granddaughter, Phoenix Euphemia Potter. So mote be!"

A red light swirled around Grindelwald and bind him to the oath. Al's eyes widened in disbelief but he nodded slowly. Grindelwald felt so relieved when he feel the echo of their soulmate bond in him again, after years of silence. The silence was worse punishment than being imprisoned, which was fairly pleasant. But now was the time to start planning and save his great granddaughter, and indirectly great grandson too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *credit to original Tumblr authors  
> So sorry for the delay. Next chapter will be posted in next days or less. Hope that makes up for the delay. Lots of love.


	41. Affiance

" _Pradyado! Kak si? (_ _Pradyo! How are you?)_ ", Nix said happily. His beautiful great granddaughter and Champion of Deathly Hallows, greeted him in flawless Bulgarian.

She looked good. She was certainly going to be tall, although she always be the short one of the twins. She was turning into a beautiful woman with impeccable dressing sense. She was very developed for her age. There was happiness in her eyes which was missing before. He wondered what how far has she taken the relationship with that boy. Hmm...he needed to meet that guy.

He smiled happily and replied," _Dobŭr sŭm, skŭpa, sega, kogato si tuk. Vizh, che se prevrŭshtash v udivitelna zhena. Chukh, che i tazi godina beshe na vŭrkha na klasa si. (_ I am good, my dear, now that you are here. Look at you turning into an amazing woman. I heard you are at top of your class this year as well.)"

Al chuckled and said," _Ako ste gotovi da govorite bŭlgarski, mozhe li da zapochnem? (_ If you are done speaking Bulgarian, may we start?)" 

Grindelwald's heart thumped seeing this side of Al. It has been years since he saw this. There was no hatred, no blame and no anguish in his eyes anymore. There was a clarity that has been missing since that Merlin awful night. Nothing has been same since then. The guilt and anguish that engulfed Al after seeing his sister lying on the floor, still haunted Grindelwald. 

Al looked handsome. Well, he has always been handsome, fashionable and wickedly intelligent. His intelligence and magical power made Grindelwald gravitate towards him faster than anything. But he looked good today. He looked fit too. He would bet that he was still fitter than most youngsters. He lips curled into a smile at the roller sneakers that Al was wearing. Somehow, he managed to rock that too 

Al had a softer heart, which became even more compassionate and kinder after birth of their son. Grindelwald was not present when that happened. He did once sneak into Al's house to see his son, but there was no contact with each other after that. Al had made sure of that. Grindelwald understood the reasons, even if it hurt him.

Adrian hatred towards everything he has done, sealed the deal of their non existent relationship to never change. That's why it was a big surprise for him when Adrian's last wish was for the family to visit him. Grindelwald understood that he was the cautiousnary tale for his family but Grindelwald was in debt to his son.

His son provided him the opportunity to know his family. To love them and, now, protect them. He has protected them in war, before too. His followers wanted to capture Adrian and his daughter, Euphemia, as leverage against Dumbledore. He tortured the first person who mentioned it so brutally that no one else ever suggested that. It was his family and it was off limit. They all gave his family and England a wide berth after that.

It has been so long since he made love to his soulmate, his husband, and his love. He even forgot the sounds Al made or his expression when he was pleased. There was this sudden need in him to push Al against the wall and have his way with him. He knew Al could feel his want through their barely opened connection.

Al caught his eyes and they both stared at each other in understanding that the previous barriers were lowered slightly. That there was a chance. A little chance of being together in some way. He grinned at that. There was electricity flowing between them. He felt Al's lips twitch in response but he was looking to his side.

Grindelwald turned and chuckled. Nix was sitting with her eyes tightly shut and fingers in her ears, as she faced away from them. Grindelwald felt sudden playfulness in him. He slowly snuck behind her and catching her by her waist, swung her around in circle. Nix shriek of laughter and giggle filled his heart with so much joy that he couldn't describe it. He put her down and kissed her on her cheeks lovingly. Nix beamed at him.

They both smiled and sat down on the floor. Al looked at them with a far off and sad look. Grindelwald knew Al was mourning the loss of a certain future. But this was the future they had now, both their decisions brought them to this place. There was no point in stirring the past again.

Grindelwald tickled Nix a little and was surprised when she tickled him back. Despite being very open and friendly, there was a boundary between them. Grindelwald was glad it was going down too.

"So...Nix wanna show us the proof?", Al asked Nix with a smile. There was an underlying tension and concern in him.

Nix smile dropped as she became more serious than he has ever seen her. She pulled out a dragonskin safety pouch from her socks.  _Smart girl. Of course, she was smart. She was their bloodline._ She pulled out a diadem out of her bag. Grindelwald and Al paused. Was that Ravenclaw's lost Diadem? They looked at Nix in question.

"There is Room of Requirement on the seventh floor. This room is magical and was made by Rowena Ravenclaw herself. It is a room which provides a person with whatever the person needs. A room to practice dueling, a room to study, to hide things, a place with cupboards, whatever you need the room provides, just by your thought.", Nix explained simply.

"Voldemort found this room during his Hogwarts years. He used it to hide the Diadem, thinking he was the only one who knew of the place, except Harry knew about it since his fifth year.", Nix explained as she handed the Diadem to Al and him.

Al looked at the Diadem with curiosity. Grindelwald could see the bulb in his brain light up. Al gave the Diadem to him and started to pace. He could feel the darkness radiating off the Diadem. He looked at it with distrust. It was interesting that the idiot didn't put any protection on it. Was he so sure that no one else would find it? His arrogance was certainly going to be downfall, wasn't it? Idiot! Such a rookie mistake.

Nix who had been quite all the while, took the Diadem from him and sort of rolled it in between her fingers. He felt sick seeing his innocent great granddaughter hold such dark piece of magic and soul in her hands. He looked at Al, who was watching the scene with panic and revolt too.

"If you guys are done with feeling revolted, maybe we should start planning. James is getting very anxious.", Nix said with blank face still staring at the Diadem in her hand.

They both snapped out of their reverie and nodded. Grindelwald took the lead since he knew more about dark magic than them. Although Al came second to none. Al didn't practice it but he knew all about it. Grindelwald took the Diadem from Nix and wore it on his head. Nix giggled seeing him like that. Al smiled too.

"Horcruxes are essentially half of souls that is being ripped. Usually after murdering someone in cold blood or something equivalently heinous crime. You need to have immense courage and pain threshold to tolerate the separation. Most wizards who have attempted it have not been able to do it more than twice. Because as with every dark magic, it takes more than it gives. "

"Your soul is the Essence of you. You part with half of yourself every time you attempt it. After a while it starts affecting your appearance and nature too. You are less human and more of a shell of a person you were after each Horcrux."

"Voldemort made six horcruxes, means that he hardly has any soul left in him. The first horcrux, will have more of his soul. Hence, it can act on it's own as the Voldemort of that age would have wanted to. But ending each Horcrux will be crucial to kill that bastard.", Grindelwald finished as he felt the Horcrux pulse.

Al nodded and added,"Knowing him like I do, I am sure all his Horcruxes will be related to something historical. He has a need to be important and connected to magical history and Hogwarts. I am thinking one from each founder. So we have Ravenclaw Diadem in our hand, something of Slytherin, Hufflepuff's... Cup has been missing for years, so maybe that is there. Gryffindor has his sword, although I don't think he has that. Only true Gryffindor can get it, when Hogwarts needs it most. It hasn't been seen for centuries  now."

"So Gryffindor is out. He would have chosen places which signified something to him. So Hogwarts, his childhood place, Gringotts, hmm...",  Grindelwald mused as Al walked around deep in thought. 

Nix chuckled besides them. They both looked at her and she shook her head.

"You both know that I know what they are and where they are, right?", Nix said with a smile. They both smiled sheepishly at her.

"There is this Ravenclaw Diadem. Then there is Slytherin Locket and Huffelpuff cup, which he took after murdering its owner. The house elf blamed for it, is still in Azkaban. I hope he can he  be freed, G3. Voldemort hid the locket in a cave which his orphanage took him to. I am not sure of it's location because he uses Kreacher to place it in future but Reg is not a death eater anymore. So he can't use Reg now. That doesn't mean he won't use the place or some other elf. I am not sure where this cave exactly is.", Nix explained. The two nodded.

"Then there is Slytherin ring, family heirloom of Gaunt family. The ring is in the Gaunt Manor, made after murdering of his uncle. Then there is the diary, which again would have been with Lucius Malfoy but he is not a supporter of Voldemort, at least, not yet. So where that is, is questionable. He used it to make sure that he could control the Basilisk in the Slytherin's Chamber of Secret. Moaning Myrtle was the murdered for this horcrux.", Nix said as she ticked off things in her list.

"Then, there is Hufflepuff Cup, which is in Bellatrix Lestrange's Gringotts locker. The last is Nagini, his pet snake. She is usually where he is.", Nix explained. She became quite as they both processed the information.

"Our first task should be to locate the diary and locket. I will have it checked if Bellatrix has kept something like the cup in her  bank account. Gaunt should be there for the time being. The snake will have to be the last. It is sad that we can't save her after all.", Al muttered the last part sadly. Grindelwald felt sad too.

Nagini was the poor witch whose family bloodline was cursed to be animal for rest of their life. It was a sad curse but part and parcel of Wizarding life. He would try to give her as painless death as possible. Nix didn't need to know all that. She won't let them kill Nagini, otherwise. Al and he, both nodded at that.

Nix looked curiously at them but then jumped in surprise, when James voice rang from her pocket.

"Hey bro. Wassup?", Nix said cheerfully.

He could see James's face in the mirror. Nix had placed the mirror so that only her face was visible in the mirror. 

"Where are you? We have practice in 15 minutes! We have to defeat Ravenclaws, Nix. Reg is more insufferable when he wins against us than he is normally.", James said teasingly. Nix chuckled as Reg 'Hey!' was heard. 

"I will meet you in changing room itself. Bring my broom, will ya?", Nix said happily. James nodded and vanished from the mirror.

"This is handy.", Grindelwald said in appreciation to the mirror. He knew they have invented them, themselves. He felt pride in him for their ingenuity.

"Yup, great when we are settings up a prank.", Nix said with a wide grin. They both chuckled at that.

"Let's destroy this, shall we?", Nix said excitedly. Grindelwald didn't think it is because of quidditch practice that she was in a hurry. Didn't she say that the boy was also in quidditch? Well, he could tease her for while.

"Why? What is the rush?", Grindelwald asked innocently.

"Yes, we will have to check the Diadem first, and take it to a safe place to kill. It will be a while.", Al added with a smile. 

"Plus, we don't know how to reach the soul without damaging the Diadem.", Grindelwald added with a smirk

"It's an ancient magical object. It should be preserved.", Al said with a wide grin.

"Merlin! Is this how James and I sound? No wonder people get baffled. Anyways, I can open it. Use the Fiendfry to destroy it as soon as you see it. I have quidditch practice, G3. Prongs would murder me, if I am late..", Nix said as she placed the Diadem at the center of his prison room.

Al raised his wand in anticipation. Grindelwald stood in front Nix, just in case. Nix opened her mouth and hissing came out of it. Grindelwald looked at her in surprise. She shrugged. The Diadem didn't pop open but something simmered out of it. It was taking a form of Adrian. 

Al froze in his place seeing his son after so long. Grindelwald wasn't doing any better. Next thing he knew, Fiendfry had consumed the silvery version of his son. The scream of agony was what snapped them out of their stupor. They both looked at Nix, who was putting her wand back in her robe.

The Diadem sat there, good as new, with some black goo was coming out of it. There was no longer the trace of Voldemort in it. Al checked to make sure of it. It was now only an ordinary Diadem with historical significance. They both looked on as Nix went to pick the Diadem from floor.

Al said with a wry smile,"Looks like you didn't need protection after all. We did."

Nix smiled brightly and said,"What else is family for?" Grindelwald heart swelled to hear that. He nodded and after hugging her, they both apparated from his prison. 

* * *

 _Stop! You are better than this! She came here for comfort, not being humped at. Annoying prick! Alright then, Mother._ His hard-on refused to die. He frowned. This has never happened. Okay....

 _Father!_  Still same. Ughhh...Merlin! His dick had started to get hard as usual, when Nix slept with him. After a while when she was in sleep, he went to washroom to jack off like always. Except, nothing happened. He tried for half hour with no result. 

He cautiously looked at Nix, who was sleeping peacefully and looking so beautiful. He gently brushed her hair off her face and sighed. He slowly traced her face and Nix smiled in her sleep. How the hell is his raging hard on getting more hard and painful? 

 _Mother and father having sex!_  He shuddered but his prick was being an absolute dick tonight. He groaned and threw himself back on the bed. He threw his arm over his face in frustration and breathed in slowly to reduce the developing pain in his dick. Nix smell was enveloping him and his dick was throbbing in response, Merlin!

"What's wrong?", Nix sleepy voice reached him and his dick twitched in response to it. How the fuck is he going to explain her this? He slowly removed his arm from his face and looked at her sheepishly.

Nix's eyes traveled the length of his body and he closed his eyes in mortification. Her soft 'oh' reached him and he opened his eyes to find her staring at the tent in his PJs with frown and curiosity. 

She looked at him in the eye and smiled softly. She ran her fingers through his hair while humming. He, unconsciously, plastered himself against her. 

"I thought, you went to the washroom to err...take care of the situation.", Nix said conversationally as his hard-on pressed against her thighs. 

"I couldn't do it. I tried for a long time but I couldn't. It won't go down.", Sirius said in frustration.

"Why?", Nix asked curiously.

Sirius shrugged. Nix looked down at it again and his bloody traitorous body was reacting to her, without his permission. He involuntarily jerked against her. He bit his lips to prevent his frustration from showing.

"It's your smell... I think. Grim's rutting season is here. I think that has taken over me. I am sorry.", Sirius apologized profusely. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"No, no, Sirius. How is this your fault? I am sorry, I should have realized. I will go back to my dorm. Its okay.", Nix said sweetly and prepared to leave. 

Sirius couldn't let her. He wanted to sleep next to her as much as he could. He got best night's sleep with her. He cursed his bloody dick for being such an inconvenience. He wrapped his hands around hers.

"Don't go. I will be fine. Please.", Sirius pleaded her. Sirius's whine left his mouth as his dick became painful.

"Sirius, are you in pain?", Nix asked in alarm. Sirius nodded. He could never lie to her. 

"Sirius! I should leave. I don't want you to be in pain! ", Nix said urgently. Sirius shook his head adamantly. Nix sighed .

Nix asked then curiously," Okay, then. What will help you? Sirius?"

Sirius licked his lips and said, "Maybe... Maybe if I uh..hump against you."

Nix smiled and rolled on her back. She pulled him on her top. Sirius kissed her deeply as his hips started to jerk against her. She started to scratch his head, jawline and hipbones, that had made him putty in her hands before. 

Despite reacting to her the way he usually does, there was no change in his situation. Sirius pulled away from her kiss and hid his face between her shoulder and head. 

"It's not working, is it? By now, you are usually close to it. Sirius?", Nix asked worriedly. Sirius hated that she sounded so unsure. He pulled back and smiled. His dick sent painful sensation back in him.

"It's ... I don't think this is working.", Sirius said tentatively as he realized what he needs. 

"Sirius if I was in pain, would you hesitate to help me in any manner?", Nix asked lovingly. Sirius shook his head in negative.

"Then, stop holding back on me. Tell me what you need.", Nix said a bit annoyed.

"I think I need to... I need to palm myself while making out with you.", Sirius said cautiously. 

Nix smiled softly and said, lovingly," Okay. I won't look there, if it is making you uncomfortable. Okay?". Sirius nodded and captured her soft lips in his, roughly, as his hand snaked down to his dick. He groaned as a bit of pain reduced. Nix hummed in their kiss, hearing his relief. 

He started to furiously palm himself but to no effect. _What the hell? Come on!_ He was getting frustrated, when he felt another smaller, softer hand near his. Her hand just touched his stubborn dick and he was moaning.

He pulled back and growled at his dick. He did not want that. He wanted to wait. What the hell dick? Nix gently pulled his face towards her and kissed him till his muscles relaxed. He realized Nix wanted to be on top, so he flipped them. His hard-on jerked, as it brushed against her arse.

Nix pulled back from the kiss. She looked deeply in his eyes and asked,"Let me go down on you, Sirius.". Sirius shook his head in no. No, he will not ruin his fantasy because his dick was being an arsehole.

"Okay, how about this? The number of times I go down on you, that number of times you get, later, to make me do whatever you want in bed. Anything.", Nix offered with a soft smile. Was it him or did her boobs suddenly get pushed upwards towards him. 

"You drive a hard bargain. Fine.", Sirius agreed with both annoyance and excitement. Nix smiled. 

She started by kissing him, deeply. Nix licked, sucked and kissed his neck and chest with abandon. Sirius was moaning and dick was trying to turn into stone by the feel of it. Nix gave special attention to his hipbone. She looked at him as she played with the elastic of his PJ. Sirius slowly removed his PJs. Nix kept her eyes fixed on his and Sirius felt love spread through him at her thoughtfulness. He raised himself up and kissed her lovingly. He pulled her over him and then rolled them over. 

He forgot about the painful dick as he started to shower love on his love. He kissed her passionately. She moaned in it. He removed her top and took her beautiful nipple in his mouth. He softly sucked them, and rolled the tips with his tongue as his hand reciprocated the same on the other one. He alternatered between the two, till she was almost whimpering from just touch.

He looked in her eyes and blew air on her extremely hard nipples. Nix eyes were blown and she body was very stiff. Sirius kept eye contact with her, as he took her nipples again in his mouth and sucked hard. Nix arched above the bed in a perfect arc. After few moments of alternative hard sucks of her very sensitive nipples, Nix came gloriously in front of his eyes. Her mouth was open in a pleasure scream, her eyes were tight shut and her body was extremely tight. It was an amazing view. Her body slowly relaxed and she opened her very happy and shiny eyes.

"I didn't know, that you could cum by breast stimulation alone.", Nix said roughly. Sirius grinned proudly and snogged her again. Nix moaned in the kiss.

"Fuck! I can't wait till the charm is gone.", Nix said panting.

Sirius grinned smugly. His dick sent a reminder that it was still there, hard as a marble. Nix smiled softly at him and looked at him in question. Sirius nodded and settled down on his back. Nix smiled and looked at his erect penis for the first time. Her eyes widened as she looked at it. Sirius knew his dick was a decent size and with alright thickness. It will grow further as he ages. He wondered what Nix was thinking seeing it for the first time. 

Nix's mouth popped open as she examined his dick. She uncertainly touched the head of his penis and Sirius groaned. Nix looked up at him quickly to see if he was in pain. Her expression changed when she saw whatever was reflected on his face. She with a bit of certainty pulled his foreskin down gently and grasped his raging hard-on in her fist. Sirius groaned. Nix settled down near his leg and gently squeezed his absolutely painful dick in her hand. He moaned deeply and jerked in her hand.

She looked at him as she started to experiment the pressure, the manner and the pull to give him pleasure. Sirius wrapped his hand around hers and showed her what he liked. She copied the move and did it for a while. His pre-cum had started to come out in earnest now. The relief and pleasure he was feeling was unrivaled. Fuck! This was amazing! He was moaning her name loudly and his hips started to jerk in a rhythm.

Nix stopped suddenly and Sirius opened his eyes to see what has happened. Maybe she got tired or she doesn't like this? He has heard from James that not all girls were into handjobs. He pulled in a sharp breath, when he took in her dark eyes that looked ready to devour him. His dick twitched in her hand.

She said in ridiculously sultry voice,"Sirius, do not choke me."

Sirius frowned at her wording but everything flew out of his mind as he experienced bliss. Nix took him in her beautiful, hot, wet mouth. She hummed as she tasted this pre-cum.

He couldn't close his eyes if someone held a wand to his head. Nix was a vision that he wanted to imprint on his brain. Her dark pink lips wrapped around his dick was orgasmic. Her eyes had pinned him to her. She was moving her mouth up and down his length with enthusiasm as she took in his reaction. 

He grabbed a fistful of sheets to not gag her. Merlin! It was heaven! Fucking hell! Yes! Sirius almost jerked in her mouth as she twirled her tongue on just the head. He groaned from deep inside as he felt himself there.

"Nix... Nix. Babe, I am about to come..", Sirius warned her to remove her mouth. Except, Nix took him deep inside and swallowed. He came with a slight jerk and a moan of her name.

He opened his eyes to see Nix wipe her mouth off with a grin. Her lips looked swollen with his cum still dripping down her face. Her hair was messed up and her eyes were sparkling in a way he hasn't seen yet. He, somehow, managed to pull her up and snogged the life out of her.

"You are regretting not letting me do that earlier, aren't you?", Nix asked in amusement, after a round of snogging. Sirius snorted and kissed her slowly and softly.

"I love you. I love you, so fucking much.", Sirius whispered to her. Nix's eyes sparkled even more and she kissed him hard in celebration. He sighed in happiness.

"Now you will not be an idiot and let me do that. Right?", Nix asked him happily. Sirius nodded.

"Your brother will murder me.", Sirius said with a wide grin as he kissed Nix's head and they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Alright, then Sirius and Nix. Sit down, please, here. James and Reg sit on either side of them. You are both here to bear witness. The older generation will be out of here to not influence or embarrass you during negotiation. Mr Walter, here, will conduct the negotiations. Decide it, debate about it and come to a conclusion. It is not necessary to get it done now. But I would like it to be complete soon, so that coming Yule Ball, we can announce your engagement.", Dad said happily as Sirius and Nix nodded. The elders left the room.

Thankfully,  _mother_ was not here to create a scene. Reg breathed in relief and happiness. They were in Potter Manor to discuss the rules, conditions and guidelines for the impending marriage of his brother and Nix. Reg eyed Mr Walter, a tall, buff man with a kind smile. Reg knew Mr Walter was a nice gentlemen, who was a conservative but was very professional. 

Mr Walter said in deep, heavy, kind voice,"Alright then Heir Black and Heiress Potter, shall we begin?"

The two nodded but then Sirius said politely,"We would be more comfortable if you could call us Sirius and Nix, Mr Walter." Mr Walter nodded with a smile.

"Heir Potter and Mr Black are in this room to bear witness from bride and groom's side, respectively.", Mr Walter proceeded. His magic quill was writing on a notepad which had Ministry of Magic's symbol.

Reg knew that the writing were being written in a will in Marriage Section in the Ministry of Magic, directly. This was done to prevent any tampering by the families later on. Once the writing was done, no changes could be made to it. The bride and groom could alter the conditions but in extreme cases and after permission from an independent inquiry team and Ministry to determine the validity of request.

"Lets begin, then. Nix, what will be your name after marriage? Will you keep your surname or take Sirius's name?", Mr Walter asked politely.

"My name after marriage would be Phoenix Euphemia Black.", Nix said with a smile. James clutched her hand.

"Very well. Now, Sirius what title and privileges will be given to her once you two are married?", Mr Walter asked.

"She would be wife, Mrs Phoenix Euphemia Black, and after I become Lord Black, she would be Lady Black. She will have equal rights and privileges as me in the marriage, family business and family issues. She will be my equal in everything and every situation.", Sirius said clearly. Reg felt proud of his brother. He could see the slight frown on Mr Walter's face.

"You realize it means that she will have access to all your family accounts, lands, decisions and magic?", Mr Walter asked professionally.

Sirius said definitively,"Yes."

Mr Walter mouth thinned and he said,"Very well. How many children is Nix obligated to provide?" Reg noticed Nix stiffen at that.

"That will be her choice and having children will be too. If we decide later on not to bear any children, Reg's children will take over the Heir line.", Sirius said simply as he kissed Nix on her cheeks.

Nix blushed prettily. Reg hid his amusement at the scandalized expression that broke Mr Walter's professional face. It was rare for these negotiations to be of love. It is usually business with no love involved. Them not having kids was not possible. With the amount of chemistry and sexual energy these two showed, he would be surprised if they didn't end up having platoon of kids.

Mr Walter cleared his throat and said,"Are you sure, Sirius? You are too young to understand this...."

Sirius in his Lord's tone(the tone was very impressive and effective),"Yes, Mr Walter. Don't worry about it."

Mr Walter nodded and said,"How much is Nix allowed to study?"

Reg could feel anger rising in him, _what kind of era were they in? Ridiculous!_

"She is allowed to study however she wants, whatever she wants. She is also allowed to pursue anything she wants and if she wants to do a job, its her choice.", Sirius with a bit of agitation. Reg knew Sirius was wondering why he was asked these thing when he already declared that Nix will be his equal.

"Who's decision will be final?", Mr Walter asked next.

"Both's. We will decide as the topic progresses.", Sirius said annoyed. Nix strengthened her hold on his hand to calm Sirius.

"Number of times, sex is obligatory?", Mr Walter asked with blank face.

"No obligation, just based on desire.", Sirius said as he get agitated again.

"Is there any restrictions or demands, sexually, physically or financially that you would like?", Mr Walter asked both but his eyes were on Nix.

"No.", They both replied together with surety.

"Is this going to be monogamous relationship?", Mr Walter asked passively.

"Yes. Any other decision, we will take together. Unless there is something else that above answers won't complete, this is done.", Sirius said in his Lord tone.

Mr Walter looked at his questions that had to be filled and waved his wand. All the question were filled automatically. Mr Walter rolled up the parchment and asked Nix and Sirius to put their wands on it. The moment they placed their wands on the parchment it burnt pure white and vanished. Mr Walter's frown and concern evaporated and he smiled genuinely.

"Its good to see this in the new generation. I hope others take the lead. I have heard too many times by the woman in the marriage that their husbands have abused or raped them. I am very glad that this won't be the case. Congratulations you two. Your official courtship is over and engagement has begun.", Mr Walter said as he shook hands with everyone in the room and left happily.

"I did not expect that.", James muttered but hugged his twin in congratulations. Reg hugged a giddy Sirius. Reg moved to congratulate Nix as Sirius was bear hugged by James. 

"Alright, we are leaving to tell our parents this. When you do come out, be sure to be decent enough.", James teased them lightly as he kissed his twin on cheeks.

James and Reg walked out of the room as a 'oomph' of Nix reached their ears. They quickened their paces to not be scared by their affectionate siblings. They both have been scared enough already.

"How much worse do you they are going to get now?", Reg asked with a chuckled as they closed the door. 

James laughed and said,"So much worse. I have memorized few minor memory suppressing charms, just in case. Now that, they are engaged....", James stopped as his eyes welled up and he clutched his chest as if in pain.

"James?", Reg asked in concern. James had tears flowing down his face as he leaned against the wall leaning for support. _He looks handsome, doesn't he?_ His brain supplied from no where. _Huh?_

"I am fine.. it is just hitting me what her being engaged means.", James said sadly as he wiped his tears.

"We will take good care of her, James. I promise. Plus, its not like you won't be here all day long. Hell, Sirius has designated a whole area in his humongous room for you.", Reg said with  a smile.

James smiled and they moved to their parents, so that they can complete the family negotiation crap. Reg was excited. He was getting an excellent sister for life. He would be related to Potters for real now. He couldn't find anyone better family to be associated and be a part of. This was a new era, a new beginning. He couldn't wait for them to get married.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?  
> Also next chapters would be slow coming.


	42. Just friends?

"Hey, bro! What's wrong?", Nix asked James curiously as she made a move in chess against Remus. 

Remus and Nix were playing wizarding chess while Sirius was munching food he knicked from kitchen. James had gone to Professor McGonagall to ask for ground for quidditch practice.  James came back looking irritated and petulant about something. 

"I thought Lily was dating Smith, not McMilan.", James grumbled.

Nix frowned as she watched her bishop get gleefully killed by Remus's pawn. Nix stuck her tongue out at Remus, who was smirking, and turned to answer her jealous brother.

"She was but he was so full of himself, so she dumped him. Then she went with Augustus for a while, who was bloodist, so she dumped him too. Now she is dating McMillan. She likes him till now. I think today is their third date or something. Why are you asking about it so suddenly?", Nix asked her brother. She moved her horse in position. 

James mumbled," I saw them snogging the crap out of each other on the staircase." 

Sirius and Remus shook their head together in amusement at the obvious jealousy James's voice had. Sirius patted James's arms in support. Remus rolled his eyes at how petulant James looked.

Nix said happily,"Oh that's good. It means he hasn't pissed her off yet. That's good." 

"Yeah, very good.", James mumbled again.

Nix looked at him curiously. Sirius laughed and then unsuccessfully tried to pass it off like a cough fit, when James glared at him. Remus was opening laughing.

"Bro, are you feeling jealous?", Nix asked amused.

"No! Of course not! She is my friend and I am concerned for her!", James defended himself. Nix raised her eyebrows at him. Remus snorted beside her. Sirius rolled his eyes at James.

"Yeah, Nix. He is concerned that Lily might like kissing McMillan and get married to him and have pretty, pretty babies with him.", Sirius said teasingly.

James shoved him off his seat. Sirius landed on his butt with chips and fries all over his hair. Nix and Remus both snorted, when Sirius 

"Right and that's why you were stalking her that day, when you saw her on date with Smith?", Remus asked dryly, as he checkmated Nix. James flipped him a bird. Nix groaned and watched as her army was slaughtered by Remus's army. 

"I wasn't stalking, okay? I was concerned. They are both so incompatible. I just wanted to make sure she was okay!", James said heatedly. They all chuckled.

"Jamie, I understand that but I don't think Lily will ever need protection. She is a strong girl, she will be fine. Stop worrying about her.", Nix said sweetly and then smiled as a happy Lily came through the door.

"Good date?", Nix asked her, happily. Lily nodded happily and James pouted more. She sat down opposite him. Lily started to animatedly tell them about her date.

"He was so sweet. He brought me a book that he thought would interest me. Then he asked Florean to send my favorite ice cream too. He was fun to talk too. I think we debated about why magic interfered with muggle technology for a while...."

The more she talked about the date, the grumpier her brother got. Nix could feel the roaring jealousy in his heart. He was avoiding looking at Nix because he couldn't lie to her. He could lie to himself but not to her. Side effects of being born magical twins. Nix was happy that finally her dud brother was close to realizing his feelings for Lily. Lily finished her date details and decided to go to bed. James went to his bed grumbling something. The rest of them looked at each other and laughed. 

"This is going to be interesting. He finally realized he likes her, likes her.", Remus said, delighted.

"Prongs still won't accept it for a while. But this would be fun.", Nix said gleefully as they packed the chess back.

Nix yawned and got up to go towards the girls dorm. Sirius looked at her in confusion. Since the beginning of the year, Nix and Sirius have slept in the same bed, mostly. Unless the girls had planned a sleepover or something, Nix slept in the boys dorm. Everyone accepted with a shrug. It was bound to happen.

"Prongs has just realized that he likes Lily in a non-friend way. He doesn't want to say anything about it to me yet. So I will go to my dorm and you guys have fun with a very confused and angry Prongs.", Nix said with a smile.

Sirius and Remus grinned widely and nodded. They left to go to their dorm, only to see James pacing agitatedly in the dorm while messing his hair. He turned towards them and scowled.

"You knew and you didn't tell?", James accused Sirius.

Remus chuckled and went to his bed. Sirius grinned widely and dropped down on his bed. 

"I was waiting to see how long it would take for you figure it out. It was too much fun to tell you. I think I lost the bet though.", Sirius said teasingly.

James threw his pillow smack on Sirius's face. Sirius and Remus started to laugh. While James scowled and sat beside Sirius, petulantly.

"So what now?", Remus asked James curiously once they both had calmed down. Sort of, they still giggled.

"I don't know. I know I like her. I just don't know how much.  What I mean is, whether I want to be in a relationship or stuff, you know. ", James said softly as he stared at his reflection in the window.

"Why? Why not pursue a relationship and see where it leads to?", Sirius asked in confusion.

"Only a person who is in relationship with his soulmate would ask such a question.", Remus said there with a small smile.

"What? Why? What's wrong with a relationship? It's not like Prongs hasn't had like 6 relationships in less than two years? So what's wrong with this?", Sirius asked genuinely confused.

"Those girls were never our close friends. They were people we just knew. His being in relationship with them or not, never affected our group dynamics.", Remus explained patiently. Sirius's mouth opened in a 'O'.

"Plus, Lily is very close friend with Nix. What if we break up? My past experiences have showed that it's difficult to be in same room with them after that. How are we supposed to be around each other than? Especially if it turns out we are not serious?", James mused.

"That's valid. But aren't you overthinking it? I mean young people have relationships all the time and then, they are able to be over it and become friends. Aren't Frank and Rwanda still friends?", Sirius reasoned.

"I can't risk it. Lily is a good friend of mine too. Plus I never want to put Nix in a position where she has to chose. So what if I like her? I can still be just her friend. ", James said determined.

"Okay I am with you.  But I still think you are putting too much weight into future. What if all works out and you stay in relationship and get married?", Sirius said.

"Na, it's better this way.", James said this and went to change. Sirius looked after him in confusion. Remus chuckled. Sirius looked at him in confusion.

"You knew Nix loved you, even before you both realized you were soulmates. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that you two would end up together. The only question was when. But here, James is worried that Lily might not like him back like that. He is trying to prevent his own heart break, just in case. Also unlike you, not everyone is ready to be married at such young age.", Remus explained with a smile.

Sirius stuck his tongue at him but nodded,"I understand the uncertainty and all that. But I still think it's stupid to let it go like that. What if she decides to be with someone else? Then isn't he going to rue this?", Sirius questioned Remus.

Remus nodded and said,"I think, he is willing to take the risk. He is still too young to be think about marriage or a serious relationship."

Sirius shrugged and removing his shirt, he threw himself on the empty bed. He sighed. He hated sleeping alone. Damn Nix for being so considerate. Remus chuckled.

"You are such a well trained dog, you know that. Completely whipped.", Remus said teasingly

"Had known it since I first met her. I honestly can't understand how you guys do it. It sounds scary. All the uncertainty, the wait, the miscommunication.", Sirius mused.

"It is difficult being in the normal world.", Remus agreed with a grin and then, asked curiously," How much is Mr Potter's charm still effective?"

Sirius yawned and said nonchalantly,"Still very effective. Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothing. It's just my nose catches certain smell every other night from your bed.", Remus said innocently

Sirius got up in alarm as he looked at Remus, who grinned mischievously. Sirius gulped and looked at the washroom. They could hear the shower on. Sirius breathed in relief.

"Damn your werewolf senses!", Sirius muttered and quickly moved to Remus bed.

"The charm is still very much effective on her. Except it's effect is reducing. It's just confined to...err... One place now. Your nose is mostly acting up on me.", Sirius whispered to Remus, urgently as he kept sneaking glance at the door.

"He really freaks you out that much?", Remus asked Sirius. Remus looked extremely entertained. Sirius nodded frantically.

"He is her brother and my best friend! It's the best and worst thing to happen. He is my best defender and worst opponent.", Sirius whispered back.

"I thought you were going to wait for the charm to wear off. So what happened?", Remus asked curiously.

Sirius was very clear that he would wait till Nix's charm wore off. Sirius was anything, if not stubborn. He has only seen Sirius break his stance for the twins. But he had categorically told Nix that he wants to wait. Nix was not someone to refuse someone's wish. So what happened?

"Padfoot happened!", Sirius said, annoyed. Remus looked at him confused.

"The rut season.", Sirius said petulantly.

"So? Can't you explain properly what you mean, you arse!", Remus said, annoyed

"The rut season was on and she decided to leave. I couldn't let her. The rut season prolongs for few days and I didn't want her to leave for that many days. So we came to an agreement..she can pleasure me and I get privileges later on.", Sirius explained.

"Oh, that's understandable and quite reasonable. I am sure it was all Buttercup.", Remus said teasingly.

"Of course, it was her. My brain refuses to work when she is around, as it is.", Sirius said with a smile

"I don't think it works otherwise either.", Remus said teasingly.

"Oi! I will have you know I have a brilliant and dazzling mind. It's works on a different level.", Sirius said proudly.

"Yes, on a madman level!", Remus said dryly.

"Every genius is a madman on certain level!", Sirius replied with aristocratic tone.

"But not every madman is a genius. And you my flee boy, are, unfortunately, just a madman!", Remus said dryly. Sirius stuck his tongue out and flipping his hair in Remus's face went to his bed. Remus laughed and prepared for bed too.

* * *

"Is there a reason why Sev's hair is currently orange color?", Lily asked angrily to James and Sirius.

Remus and Nix looked up from their books in confusion. They both turned to see a petulant and angry Snape glare at the two black haired boys. They both stifled a laugh because apart from the hair, his robes had duck quacking at intervals. Sirius and James looked at her with innocent and confused faces.

"Why do you think we did it?", James asked, confused.

Lily paused. _Wait did they not do this?_ But she saw them laugh as soon as Sev's hair turned orange _. Maybe I saw something and jumped to_ conclusion?

"I am sorry. I thought you did the color because you started to laugh so loudly.", Lily said softly

"I didn't do it, Lily. But Sirius did.", James said happily. Nix frowned from their side but kept her mouth shut.

"Why?", Lily asked Sirius curiously.

Her anger was long forgotten. Sev was seething beside her but he was very angry this year, anyways. He has been in prissy mood since she told him that Nix and Sirius were officially engaged. James ruffled his hair and gave her his rughish smile. She pushed away the butterflies in her stomach at that.

"I lost a bet. Had to target the first person I saw. I was hoping for you actually. I really wanted to see how you would look in neon yellow.", Sirius said with a charming smile.

Lily snorted and converted Sev's hair back. They both went their way. Sirius noticed James eyes were following Lily till she disappeared from their eyesight.

"There was no bet and you did the charm, Prongs. Why lie to her?", Remus said disapprovingly

"I didn't lie. I didn't. She asked why I changed Snivellus's hair color. I hadn't. I charmed his robes.", James said with a bright smile.

"Why did you target him?" Nix asked in a controlled voice.

"He annoyed me.", James said casually.

"And that gave you the right to make fun of him?", Nix asked a bit angrily.

"Yes. He pisses me off. Okay? He is awkward and sneaky. There is something off about that guy. I don't like him.", James said defiantly.

"That does not give you right to treat him like dirt. Has he done anything to you?", Nix asked angrily.

"No.", James said defiantly

"So apart from the fact that you are jealous of his relationship with Snape, is there any reason for you to treat him like that?", Nix asked reasonably

"I am not jealous of anything that Snape has. I am not jealous. And no there is no reason. So what? Look I am not debating about this. I don't like that guy. It's a harmless prank anyways! I have been doing this for a long time. You just didn't know that this is normal. B _oth of us_  have been doing pranks on each other for years now. Why are you, suddenly, making it such a big deal?", James asked Nix angrily.

Remus and Sirius were looking at two in shock. In all the time they have known them, the twins never got angry at each other like this. They didn't know how to handle this situation. They looked at each other and then, helplessly looked at the glaring twins.

"Because it's bullying. You shouldn't do that! And how can you not tell me?", Nix said angrily.

"That's rich coming from you. You demand I tell you everything, then you shouldn't hide things from me either. But you have been doing it for years and that's fine. But the moment I hide one thing, it is an issue. Get over your high horse! You are the one that broke the pact! So stop blaming me for breaking the bond! You are the one who made us two, instead of one!", James spat out angrily.

Nix took a step back from James. There was hurt written all over her face. James looked contrite and moved to apologize, when Nix stopped him, shook her head and left. 

"Fucking Snivellus! ", James yelled angrily.

"How is he at fault? You became the jerk!", Remus said angrily.

"Mate! I know that guy pisses you off. Hell he makes me want to punch him for days, but that is no reason to hurt your own sister!", Sirius said agitated as he watched Nix leave. Remus swears he could smell tears in the air and he is pissed as hell at James.

"I know, okay! I know! Damn it! That guy brings the worst in me. Will you let me calm down, so that I can beg my sister for forgiveness?", James pleaded with them as he breathed in deeply. 

He ran after Nix. The two followed behind them.

"Buttercup! Buttercup! Nix! Wait! Please!", They followed the desperate voice of James.

They saw James stop a visibly upset Nix and turn her around by her arm. They saw as James opened his mouth to apologize and Nix stop him. She said something and left as Phoenix. James stood there looking defeated and angry at himself.

Sirius went and placed his hand on James. James turned and hugged Sirius tightly. Sirius hugged him back and rubbed soothing circle as James cried. Remus looked at the sky as Phoenix disappeared from the sky. James calmed down and rubbed his chest.

"I never wanted to hurt her. Damn Snivellus for making me lose my mind. I don't understand what came over me. I hurt her. I hurt my sister.", James said angrily.

"She was not wrong, you know. You both have been bullying Snape for a long time. Maybe you should stop.", Remus said reapprochingly.

"Mate, we don't bully him. He has retaliated numerous times. It's just for fun. And honestly, James, I don't blame you. That unshowered bat hairball makes me want to punch him too.", Sirius said with heat.

"Why?", Remus asked them.

"Why? Because he will become a dark wizard and kill people for fun. He will become the reason why so many will die. I know Nix says he was on the good side and did a lot of good, but I know in my heart that he is an arsehole and he would jump the wagon to save his skin.", James said with hate dripping his voice.

"I also see the leering way he looks at Nix and Lily. Like he wants them or something. I don't like it. Plus he is a death eater and a supporter of Lord Voldemort, so we are just giving him a taste of what his future would be like. ", Sirius said dismissively.

"Don't you see why Nix would be upset over this? She is not upset over a stupid prank. She is upset that you are targeting someone just for fun. What will happen when she figures out the extent of your 'pranks' with each other?", Remus asked them reasonably

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her.", Sirius said dismissively.

"Let's go to Hogsmeade. I want to buy Nix's favorite butterbeer and chocolates. She has calmed down enough but is still far enough to come back quickly.", James said with determination in his voice. 

Sirius and James moved towards the whopping Willow. Remus sighed and followed his two friends. The only person who can change them is Nix and Remus hopes to Merlin that she would.

* * *

"Nix, I am...", James tried to apologize to his twin, who stopped him with a shake off her head.

She looked at him with an unreadable expression. He is pissed at himself for hurting her so much that he can't read what she is feeling. He can feel what she is feeling, but it feels like a slap on the face that he has to take help of their connection, instead of just reading her face like his favorite book. He knows she is feeling disappointed but there was also the love that she feels for him still swimming. He sighs in relief that he hasn't destroyed their relationship completely.

"I know you are sorry. You won't stop tugging at our bond to bring me back. I... I understand that you and I may have differing views on somethings and that's okay. I will not stop you from pranking anyone. You are smart and old enough to take your decisions. Although, I won't participate in things I don't agree with.", Nix said with a straight face.

"But I would like to tell you that I don't think you should bully anyone because they look or act different. No one gives you the right to make anyone feel bad about them. I understand you don't see it that way, so I am yielding back."

"I am also sorry that you feel that I have made us two instead of one. I thought you understood that I did it to protect you. If you want to know about everything, I will tell you now. Nothing is more important to me than our relationship, James. I am sorry for making you feel like I broke our bond and I am very sorry for hurting you like that. Please believe me that I had no intention of doing that.or hurting you in process.", Nix said emotionally.

James face crumbled and he ran to engulf Nix in tight embrace. He pulled back and kissing Nix all over the face, said with love,

"You didn't. I was a arsehole for even saying that. I don't think that, Nix. I don't. I am just frustrated and worried about your safety. My anxiety acts up and I reacted badly. I am so, so sorry for hurting so much. I don't want to know anything because I know you have a good reason."

"I don't bully him, Nix. It's a pattern we both have been in since the first year. It's a competition to be the best. So we trade jabs, pranks and insults because of the competition. It's not bullying. Please forgive me.", James said sincerely.

"As long as you never target anyone else. You have competition with Snape, fine. You both can competitive to your hearts content but no more pranking others, just because they annoy you. Swear on me.", Nix said with a steel.

"I swear on you that I won't prank anyone who annoys me. I would prank or attack in case of self defense.", James said solemnly. 

Nix looked at the two of them. Sirius and Remus repeated the same swear too.

"Now do you forgive me for being an absolute arse?", James begged Nix with a puppy look.

Nix said with a smile,"Depends on if you got me my favorite candy."

James laughed heartfully and hugged Nix. There was relief and happiness pouring out of James. 

"Of course, I did. What am I, a monster?", James said teasingly and handed her a bag of her favorite candies.

"The only thing missing is a hot chocolate.", Nix said wistfully.

"I will get.", Sirius said eagerly and James followed him outside eagerly too. Remus sat beside Nix.

"You know they are bullying, right? Why not stop them?", Remus asked her curiously.

"Because they don't see it that way. Even if I stand up to them and yell for hours, they wouldn't change their thinking. What they would do instead is start hiding things from me and getting even more aggressive with Snape.", Nix explained calmly.

"So what let them be a bully?", Remus asked her

"No. I will slowly try to bring them to the right path but it has to come from within them, you know. You can only take the horse to the water, the horse has to drink it. Plus, my brother is jealous of Snape and Lily's friendship. A jealous mind works differently than a logical one. I am hoping it would become logical soon enough. Also, if I did emotionally blackmail then the whole issue will become about me and not their bullying. They would try to make amends but continue their 'fun'.", Nix said.

Remus nodded at logic and hoped that they both can pull their way back from the path of bullying. He was hoping that the brilliant mind of Nix would sprout out some plan to stop these two dunderheads.


	43. Christmas

"I think your brother has gone mad.", Lily said with a smile to Nix, who was reading a ridiculously fat book.

Nix looked up in confusion. "Well, I am sure he was mad already. But what made you say that, today?", Nix asked her, curiously.

"I saw him having an argument with a huge black dog. Quiet intensely, if I add.", Lily said in amusement. 

Nix started to laugh and the door opened to reveal an annoyed James and a smirking Sirius coming back into the common room. 

"Hi, Buttercup.", Sirius said happily, as he kissed Nix's cheeks. Nix smiled at him, happily. 

"So Prongs, I heard that you were arguing with a black dog?", Nix asked him, teasingly.

James gave Sirius a stink eye as he huffed. "Well, your idiot boyfriend was not there, so I decided to argue with the dog.", James said with 'anger'.

Sirius placed his hand on his heart in 'hurt' and looked at James in mock horror and despair. He took Nix's glove, that was on the table, and smacked James's face with it. 

"How dare you? Is this all I mean to you? This is how you treat me after I have declared my undying love for you!", Sirius said as he sniffed, except his eyes were twinkling with mirth. 

"Oh my love, I am so sorry to have upset you.", James said with a gasp and hugged (or more like strangled) Sirius tightly in 'apology'. 

Everyone started to laugh. Sirius sat beside Nix on the love seat and James sat beside her legs on the floor. Lily sat in front of them on the sofa.

"Lily, you are coming for the Christmas Party, aren't you?", Nix asked Lily with a smile.

James looked at Lily with interest. He wondered how she would look dressed up. He was sure she would look absolutely stunning. She looked pretty everyday when she hardly did anything. He shook his head. He really needed to stop thinking of Lily like that. She was still dating that McMillan. It was going to be almost half a year of them dating. It annoyed and pissed him off to see her happy with that fucker.

After promising Nix that he won't target any one person specifically, it was very difficult to vent his anger properly. So he, Sirius and Remus had started to go for a run every morning. Peter would come out later with snacks and beverages as refreshments for the boys. Peter was a sweet boy and they didn't mind spending time with him. He was a bit forgetful and got frightened easily but he was a nice bloke. They had an unspoken agreement, as long as girls didn't find about their arrangements, they were fine.

"Of course, I am coming to the party! You are getting engaged!", Lily said happily.

James smile froze on his face. There was a reason he was not thinking too much about the Christmas holidays. Normally, he won't stop yapping about it but right now, the Christmas meant official announcement of Nix and Sirius's engagement to the family and close friends. The actual announcement to the world would be during the Yule Ball in summer.

James sighed as he saw Sirius conjure a flower for his sister. He was beyond happy for her that she was getting married to their best friend but the reality of what her engagement meant, left him in a deep funk. She would leave him and live with Sirius as was the norm. He would see her every few days or maybe, only on holidays. He couldn't see how he would survive without her.

He knew he was being melodramatic but she was his little sister. She was his responsibility, his best friend, his co-conspirator and his confidant. He would miss listening to her compose music, driving their mother insane with their insane inventions, having late night conversations, and just being there for each other. 

He smiled at her when she sat down next to him on the floor and hugged him. To the rest of them, it would look like she was using him as a pillow to sleep but he knew she was feeling the separation anxiety too. He hugged her back and placed his chin over her head and breathed in. He opened his eyes to see Sirius looking at them with an unreadable expression. Sirius distracted everyone, while the twins shared the stress of their impending separation. The twins didn't speak a lot after that. They all went to their dorms. Nix was changing her clothes and Remus was helping Peter with homework, downstairs. James looked up in confusion when Sirius dropped down on his bed.

"You know being engaged or married to me, won't make you any less important in her or my life. I would never come between you two or your relationship. You know that right?", Sirius asked James solemnly.

"I know. It's just... I am so used to her, that now thinking about not being around her 24x7 is creating anxiety in me. Don't think that our separation anxiety as something that is your fault. It's natural. It's actually good thing that we are best friends, which means I can live in your house and that not create an issue.", James said with a smile.

"I am actually planning a whole section in the huge arse room of ours for you. I think it would be complete by the Christmas. I was planning on placing a bed too or maybe a huge sofa." Sirius said brightly.

James smiled and hugged him. "Thanks!", Muttered James. Sirius hugged him closer.

"All okay?", Nix's soft voice reached them. James pulled away from Sirius and smiled at her. Nix smiled and sat down next to him.

"Yeah. We were discussing the Christmas party.", James said with a smile. 

"Oh.", Nix said with a small smile. She ruffled his hair and hugged him. James hugged her back.

"I was wondering if I could bunk with you tonight.", Nix asked him. 

James kissed her cheeks and said "Of course you can. You know even if I am married, you can still bunk with me."

"Even if you are about to have sex with your ridiculously sexy wife?", Sirius asked teasingly.

"Of course. She is my sister. She will be always be a priority.", James said like it was obvious.

"You are assuming, Sirius, that he will be married. Can you imagine waking up to this hair everyday?", Remus said as he entered the dorm with a teasing smile. James stuck his tongue out at him.

"Well, my hair is awesome and my wife will be amazing.", James said determined.

"Is she going to have red hair?", Sirius asked with a broad smile.

James sighed. These two have been after his life, since he figured out that he had a crush on Lily. Sirius still thought that he was being an idiot by not asking Lily out and Remus told him that he understood his reasons. Nix had left it alone, although he had felt her amusement to his denial of infatuation too many times to know that she is bidding her time to tease him.

Lily was beautiful, intelligent, smart as a whip, caring and funny. More than that she had no issue with the relation James had with Nix and Sirius. Not like that but he was unnaturally close to both of them. For him his sister and friends will always come first. The girls he had dated till now never understood that. That had been the reason why he had broken off with many. Lily seemed to be someone who not only understood that but found it endearing. He just wasn't ready.

"No, I was thinking blue.", James said annoyed.

Nix chuckled and said,"Leave him alone. He can date anyone he wants. Stop pressuring him."

"But it's fun!", Sirius protested, even as he left for his bed.

"Ok, ok. We will tone it down.", Remus said with a smile at Nix, as he closed his eyes to sleep.

"Thanks. It was getting on my nerves.", James muttered to Nix.

Nix smiled at him and yawned. James grinned and laid down on the bed. Nix opened her hair and fell beside him. 

"Merlin, Nix! How much hair do you have?", James said as he removed her hair from his face.

"Same as you. They are just longer.", Nix said, sleepy. James mumbled about her having majority of the hair genes.

"You know we will postpone our marriage till you are comfortable. You don't have to feel so glum, Jamie. I can't leave you. _i_ won't survive it.", Nix said softly as she hugged him tightly.

"I know. My anxiety is increasing and refuses to reduce. I am working on it. This Christmas party should be interesting though. Bellatrix and Lestranges won't be there. I wonder how the Black family would react to us.", James muttered.

"Lady Black will be a hoot.", Nix sniggered. James laughed lightly and they fell off to sleep.

* * *

"So what do you think?", Sirius asked Nix as he waited for her opinion on his bedroom.

Dad has told him to get Nix's input on how she wanted their room as they would be married soon enough or at least, bonded. Dad was sure it would be fairly soon. Sirius was in no rush. They would be together when the bond was ready for them to be together. Remus had confided in Sirius that the charm on Nix would not have reduced, unless her father had wanted. But Sirius knew PaPo hadn't wanted that yet. So, they figured out that it must be the bond acting on its own. Well, he would leave his fate and progression of his love life on his soulmate bond. It has made it possible to be with that amazing person, he trusts it to get them together too. 

Nix frowned in confusion as she looked around and at his expecting face.

"Well one, I am sure I am not allowed to be in here without supervision. Your mother will have a fit.", Nix said lightly. Sirius rolled his eyes at that. As if he gave a shit about what his mother thought.

"Two, what am I supposed to be commenting about?", Nix asked him, confused.

"The room. The changes you want in the room?", Sirius asked her jovially.

"Err...do you not like your room?", Nix asked him in concern.

"No..no. the room is fine. I just wanted to know what changes do you want in the room, when we get married?", Sirius asked her with smile.

" _Mi cielo_ , we won't be married till we are of age. That is still couple of years later. Why do you want to change the room now?", Nix asked him as she critically appraised the room.

"Because we may be married later but we would be bonded soon enough. Even if we are not, what is mine is yours and I want you to be comfortable here.", Sirius said like it was the most obvious thing.

"I am not disagreeing with that. But Sirius, my likes, apart from you, changes everyday. Last year I was into yellow. This year it's purple. So my room is a mixture of both colors. I don't know if what I like today, I would like tomorrow. It just seems such a waste of money to do changes right now.", Nix said as she surveyed the room.

"Okay, forget the colors. What about other changes? Big ones? Like cupboards? Bed? Window?", Sirius asked her as he pointed the things.

"Okay, well. The cupboard is a bit small. This would probably only be able to contain your clothes.", Nix said teasingly.

"Hey! I will have you know that I like to dress good for this fiance of mine. She is ridiculously hot and beautiful, so I have to keep up.", Sirius told her teasingly. Nix snorted and pushed him back lightly. He collided with the bed and fell on the bed.

"Is that so?", Nix asked sultory. Sirius smirked. Nix bend down to kiss him.  _Ah, what the hell. She is right, we have plenty of time for renovations. This is much...oh Merlin... Important._ He poured himself into the kiss and her. It was always her and thank Merlin for that.

* * *

What does he see in her? Alright, she is beautiful, smart and has a fashion sense too. But so does she! Bloom Rosier was seething underneath as she smiled and chatted amicably with other purebloods. See! This is why she is amazing. She should be the one who Sirius dots on, who should be Sirius's plus one. She was sure Aunt Walla would get Sirius married to her in the end but this wait was painful.

She had dressed herself in black as was the theme of the Christmas party for years. But of course, Potter had to defy the color code and wear something different. Everyone praised her dress and her beauty but no one said anything about that the fact that this mudblood loving heiress was breaking every rule and protocol placed for centuries. It annoyed her how much Lord Black was entranced by the know-it-all Potter. Even, Regulus acted as her guard dog. Sometimes she wonder which Black male had this vixen more wrapped around her finger.

It was annoying how uninterested Sirius was towards Bloom and the moment,  _she_ lands all he can see is Potter. Bloody muggle lover! This Christmas party has been a further break from other parties. This time mudbloods and half bloods were also sauntering in the place graced only by the purest of purebloods. How far the Blacks have fallen. The Pureblood society was in frenzy at how much Lord Black seems to be grovingly at the feet of muggleborns and half bloods, but they were still very powerful and wealthy to do any harm to their position and power. In fact, if her father is to be believed, their wealth has started to grow exponentially since they began the grovelling. Bloom had been happy to hear that. Her children with Sirius would benefit from the increased wealth after all.

Speaking of Sirius, she hasn't seen him in the party for quite some time. She searched for the prince of her heart but couldn't find him. She frowned. She could see the ugly mop of Potter boy and the elegant Regulus, entertaining the mudblood Evans, half blood McKinnon and half blood Lupin. Where were the other two of their group?  Bloom politely excused herself from the ladies and searched for Sirius. She decided to see upstairs, since she remembers Potter saying she wanted to use the restroom.

She searched every room in the Manor till she reached his room. His room, which blocked Bloom from even entering, had Potter and Sirius joyfully chatting about changes to his room as per Potter's wishes. How sad it would be for Potter when Bloom ends up being married to Sirius? Well, she would love to see Potter's face then.

Bloom face colored when she saw Potter seductively push Sirius back and Sirius collapsed in all his handsomeness on the bed. How did he look so graceful and hot even while falling down? Damn, his daily run with Potter boy and Lupin has started to show on his physic. He looked hotter and sexier than ever. His medium length hair and captivating grey eyes made Bloom sigh by just looking at him at times. He was just so handsome. Potter climbed on top of him and started to suck his face. Bloom heard Sirius's moan and bristled. This she will not allow. Not under her future roof. She went down and searched for Lady Black. She nodded at her discreetly like a proper lady, and they both trekked up. 

Lady Black stopped in front of Sirius's room. The door was closed but they could hear a distinctive moan from the room, followed by " _A chroí,_ Merlin!". Lady Black growled and waved her arm. A scrolls flew through the corridor and downstairs. Lady Black just stared hard at the door with murderous look on her face. Bloom was confused as to why she was not going into the room and ending whatever that Potter girl was upto. Clearly she was using her body as a tool to keep Sirius trapped. Maybe, Bloom should wear more revealing clothes. No boy could ignore that, right? 

"Really, Walla? We have a party downstairs. Guests to entertain, announcements to be made, family to attend to. Why in the Merlin's name, would you summon me here? And would you stop glaring at Sirius's door and answer my question?", Lord Black said, annoyed.

" _Nix_ _! oh Merlin! Fuck! Don't stop.."_ , Sirius's moaning voice tickled down the door into the corridor. Bloom blushed furiously and looked appropriately abashed.

"This! This is why I called you here!", Lady Black spat out as she pointed to door.

Lord Black looked amused and said with a smile,"Maybe a silencing spell should also be added to the door for all our sanity, if they are going to be so loud."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOUR SON IS CURRENTLY  _WHORING_ WITH THE GIRL RESPONSIBLE FOR DRAGGING OUR NAME THROUGH MUD AND PUTTING BELLATRIX IN AZKABAN AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS THAT WE NEED A SILENCING CHARM?", Lady Black yelled at Lord Black, who looked bored.

"Our name was dragged through mud because of Bella's stupidity. And considering the fact that Nix is Sirius's girlfriend and soon to be wife,  _this_ is hardly anything scandalous. We did worse things when we were there age and we were brother and sister. So calm down and relax will you.", Lord Black said calmly.

"I ...We... You.. I.. THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?", Lady Black demanded of Lord Black, who simply shrugged.

"Get them out! That girl has no self respect but we do!", Lady Black hissed with venom in her voice. 

"That girl is going to be the mother of our future generation.", Lord Black said resolutely.

"Not if I have a say in it.", Lady Black said angrily.

"Luckily for the world, you don't. They are already engaged, Walla. They have signed the prenup and today is their engagement announcement. You need to get on board. This has gone long enough...", Lord Black continued speaking but for Bloom it felt like the voice was coming from a tunnel. 

She couldn't believe that today Potter was going to be announced engaged to the world to Sirius, her future husband and prince of her heart. Lord Black defiance of Lady Black's wishes and fact of matter of way he was declaring the engagement was shattering Bloom's heart. She knows the position of women in the pureblood family. She knows if Lord Black has decided then irrespective of Lady Black's wishes, Potter would be the new Lady Black. Bloom wondered what Potter did to make Lord Black so in favor of her. She controlled the tears that were threatening to fall. She was a proper Pureblood lady and she will not disgrace herself, especially not because of _Potter_. Bloom braced herself.

"Sirius, son, I am about to enter your room. I hope you are decent enough to welcome your old man.", Lord Black said with amusement lacing his voice. 

"No! NO! Wait! 1 minute!", Sirius breathless voice reached them. Lord Black chuckled as Lady Black glowered at the door. After a while, the door opened to reveal breathless Sirius at the door.

"Dad? Was there something you needed?", Sirius asked his father, confused.

"Well, I was about to make announcement of your impending nuptials. Of course, I can postpone till next year, if you rather I don't", Lord Black said with a smirk.

"No..no. We..umm..I will be there in a second. I think Nix is down there somewhere..", Sirius said nervously as he eyed his father. Sirius was completely dismissing his mother and Bloom's presence. It hurt that Sirius thought so less of her presence. Lord Black chuckled.  

"Nix darling, are you decent yet? My son is terrible liar. How do you guys have such few detentions, I will never understand.", Lord Black said a bit loudly towards the door.

"Its Moony, Orion.", Nix said from inside. Bloom could hear the lightness and happiness in her voice. It was grating to Bloom's soul.

Sirius who was standing at the door, tensed, relaxed as Potter came from behind him. Dressed and looking not worse for wear. In fact, Sirius looked more out of breath than Potter. Bloom wondered who was doing who. Sirius turned towards Potter and smiled so sweetly that Bloom's felt a tear slip from her traitor eyes. Sirius bend down and kissed a glowing Potter on her cheeks. 

"YOU WANT TO MAKE THIS WHORE AS OUR DAUGHTER IN-LAW? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? SINCE THIS GIRL HAS COME IN OUR LIFE, EVERYTHING HAS GONE WRONG AND YOU ARE TOO BLIND TO SEE ALL THIS!", Lady Black yelled at Lord Black, who looked at his wife grimly.

"Walla, enough! That's the last I will hear about this!", Lord Black said angrily, just as Potter spoke up.

"Sirius, no!", Potter warning came a bit late. Sirius had already fired a spell at Lady Black. 

"Mother, last warning. I will not be held responsible for what I will do to you if you ever insulted Nix again. Now, you will remain mum for the rest of the night.", Sirius said with a satisfied smile.  

"Oh, good. I was worried I would need a new set of ears before this night is over. Even we are done dealing with her, can we go downstairs? The guests are going to start taking leave soon enough. Shall we introduce Nix as my future sister in-law already, dad?", Regulus said from the stairs with a happy smile.

"Yes, lets go. And, Walla one wrong move and I  _will_ punish you.", Lord Black said sternly to Lady Black, who glared but nodded.

"Come on, love. Lets go.", Lord Black said sweetly to Potter, who nodded her stupid head and went chirping with the Black men. Lady Black trailed after them and Bloom broke down at the loss of her dream. She was losing to Potter. Her parents would be so disappointed in her. What was she going to do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mi cielo- my heaven  
> “A chroí (uh KHREE)-Irish dusha-bulgarian


	44. Beginning of quest

"Nix love, make sure to take the robes we bought this summer. It is still in the bag in your room. Wear it at least once. Not wearing it, doesn't mean I won't make you get new ones next summer.", Mom said with a smile as she made batches and batches of pies for her children. Nix groaned but got up to do just that. Maybe Sirius can convince Mom not to get her new clothes. She had enough to live till her seventh year at least.

They were returning back to Hogwarts tomorrow. The engagement announcement has gone well, apart from angry outburst by the Lestranges. Honestly after everything, it would have been odd if they had let the whole situation go without creating a scene. Gloom Rosier had looked rather gloomy but that was to be expected too. Nix felt bad, honestly, but Sirius was hers and that was it. Cissy and Andy had given her a hug and welcomed her to the family with a broad smile. Lady Black had looked ready to roast her alive. She was worried that Lady Black would take it out on her kids, but Dad had already arranged for the boys to live with them for rest of the Christmas with Orion. The twins had breathed in relief after hearing that. The boys were currently out with their fathers meeting prominent Lords and Ladies. She was very glad that she still had half a year before she would be dragged for these crappy meeting too. Well, she may as well pack her bags.

She found the bag lying somewhere in her closet. She emptied the content on the bed and started to put the dress robes into the bag, properly. Her mind wandered to their search for Horcruxes. Grandpa had located the cup and ring in their locations. They were planning on getting them this summer. G3 has obtained information that Voldemort has used Bulstrode's house elf in the cave. G3 was yet to locate the cave. The cave's exact location was proving harder to find. It was more secluded then they had thought. Although, Nix was more worried about where Voldemort would have kept the diary. Before Malfoy was his stowaway man, this time... maybe Lestranges. Hmm..could he have entrusted two of his most prized possessions with same family? It was unlikely but he has very few loyal followers left now. Maybe Carrows? Bulstrode? She doubted he would trust his prized possession with them, they were very dumb. She wondered if there was a way of finding it. 

She paused when her hand encountered something solid as she reached for next robe. Nix paused as she stared at the Tom Marvalo Riddle's Diary. How in Merlin's name did it land here? What? How? Bellatrix...oh..that day in the bookshop. It did feel odd for her to come, especially just to confront her. But why? Why would she be so careless with such an important possession and that too of her master? Did she hope to do to me what Voldemort did to Ginny Weasley? That seems plausible. Bellatrix was awfully frustrated with the lion roar charm that Nix had placed on Bellatrix. Maybe she was hoping for revenge and bringing Potter family down with it. It was clear from the Bertha's incident that if anything happens to her, not just her parents, James, Sirius, Reg but also G3, would lose sight of all things important. It was a good way of bringing down the light side. Hmmm...she wondered if she could use the diary to her advantage. She quickly packed the rest of her stuff and sat on her desk. She brought out the diary and started to write on it.

_Today has been a wonderful day. You-know-who has made been able to imprison all the mudbloods. Finally! His dream has been fulfilled. I am so happy!_

She wrote this and waited. She was sure Voldemort's ego would take the bait. The ink disappeared into the diary, just like she saw in Harry's dream. 

**Hello, My name is Tom Marvalo Riddle. May I know who is speaking?**

Voldemort has replied. Well, well. Let the game begin.

_My name is Phoenix Black. How is a diary responding? Is it like one of father's old books, who can think for themselves?_

**Yes. This is one of the ancient books and I have been given the name of Tom Marvalo Riddle, Phoenix.**

_That is weird name but okay. It doesn't sound pureblood though. Are you a pureblood?_

**I was made by Slytherin Heir, Phoenix. How old are you, Phoenix? And what year is it?**

_Hmm...Slytherin Heir? Yeah that seems plausible. And, I am 15 years old and it's 2012._

**Oh and who is this** **You-know-who?**

_You don't know who You-know-who is? How can you be made by Slytherin Heir, if you don't know about the greatest wizard of all time?_

**I have been out of touch for a while now. Would you be kind enough to explain please?**

_Well, You-know-who has taken over the wizarding world for almost a decade now and mudbloods have all been wiped out of world. Purebloods rule the roost now as it was meant to be. Dark Lord has cleanized the society._

**That is amazing, Phoenix. But who is this Dark Lord? Is he same as You-know-who?**

_I can't say his name. It's not allowed. He is very powerful and saying his name means to be disrespectful to him._

**Well, no one will know. Our conversation is our secret, Phoenix. You can tell me anything you want.**

_Well.._ _Okay fine.._ She wondered if he was taking the bait.

_You-know-who and Dark Lord are same person. His name is ..well his name is Lord Voldemort. But we are only supposed to say Dark Lord or You-know-who, got it? Don't make me say his name again._

**Really, Dark Lord has taken over the world? What about Dumbledore?**

_Dumbledore was killed on Dark Lord's order almost a decade ago. There is no one left on the light side. We have either killed or imprisoned them all. The more rebellious kind were given Azkaban's Dementor's kiss. That quieted those weak idiots down fast._

**That is amazing, Phoenix. How did you get hold of this diary?**

_Dark Lord gave my father this diary for safe keeping. When he wasn't looking I nicked it. I liked how sturdy this diary looked. Plus I felt like it was calling me._

**It surely was calling you, Phoenix. Who is the Headmaster now?**

_Severus Snape, the most loyal supporter of Dark Lord. He killed Dumbledore on Dark Lord's order._

**Is he a pureblood too?**

_No, he is faithful half blood. We let them live as long as they are faithful._

**That's very interesting. What other changes did the Dark Lord make?**

_He got away with the no magic in front of muggle and we are allowed to do whatever form of magic we like in the open. I already know how to apparate and the unforgivable curses. It is sad that I don't have a lot of subjects to try them on._

**Who is the defense against dark arts teacher?**

_We don't have a subject like that for years now. How outdated is this diary? Just my luck! I would nick an absolutely useless piece of thrash. I wanted to know about a place where I could practice torturing this mudblood I found. But it's clear this book would be of no use. I am going to get you locked up in the locker for eternity. All the trouble for an interrogating old book. Merlin!_

**No wait! I can tell you a perfect location. I am not sure if it is already been safeguarded but you can use it to torture someone. I have used it to do the same.**

_If it is already safeguarded then it is useless, isn't it? Merlin! You really are dumb! Why would Dark Lord want_ you  _to be safe?_

**I can tell you how to overcome the barrier. It is the perfect spot. No one will find and if the place is guarded then it will have inferi, who could take care of the corpse.**

_Alright old guy. Tell me the place. I will go and check it out myself. If there is protection, you better tell me the way through it or I am stuffing you in the vault._

**Deal. As long as you keep me updated on the outside world and especially, the feats of Dark Lord. The place is somewhere near Scotland but I will tell you exact location next time we talk.**

_Fine but I am going now. We have Dark Lord speech soon and I don't want to miss it because of you._

**Okay bye, Phoenix. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you.**

Nix closed the diary and safely kept in inside her protective bag. She breathed in relief. Voldemort was charismatic but it shouldn't be an issue to manipulate him. Scotland then. Well, she would end parts of  _his_ soul using his information. That was karmic. She smiled as she heard the raucous laughter of her boys and dad. She went down to meet them. She wanted to get out of the room and away from the diary. Jeez, it radiated strong dark energy. It's so interesting how an eleven year was able to fight this dark magic on her own for so long. Ginny Weasley must have been one hell of a witch.

* * *

"You know what I was thinking?", Sirius said conversationally as the Marauders, Marl and Lily were sitting in front of fireplace in the Common Room.

"You know you shouldn't be doing that. Remember the last time.", Remus said dryly.

Sirius had been over the moon drunk and had applied to adopt 500 frogs in a flood of compassion. When he received the said frogs, he decided to 'donate' them to Transfiguration by leaving them in Professor McGonagall's office and running out of there. The face of Professor McGonagall when she entered her classroom and saw hundreds of frogs croaking around, was hilarious. She looked incredulously at the writing on the blackboard 'Happy Valentine's day from your admirer.' Remus had slapped his head when he saw that. The Professor was more amused then pissed at that one. How did these three dunderheads get away with these things? It was one of the greatest mysteries of all times.

Sirius continued his musing like Remus hasn't spoken in between.

"I'd hate to be a werewolf.", Sirius said nonchalantly. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"My mother would kill me for shedding fur on the furniture. Plus, I still won't be the scariest thing in the room.", Sirius said lightly. Everyone started to laugh.

"That was..actually funny.", Remus said, surprised.

"I am offended at how surprised you sound."*, Sirius said affronted. Remus snorted. He frowned as Nix kept away her timepass book and yawned loudly. James was already half sleeping. Sirius was munching on his after-quidditch-practice-snack. There was no book in sight. They had exams next week and these three have stopped studying completely since this year started. Remus was starting to get worried about their academic future. 

Remus said in his scolding voice,"You three need to study. The exams are around the corner. The next year is OWLs, we need to be prepared. That year will decide our future. Come on, let's study Transfiguration or maybe Potions." 

The twins and Sirius rolled their eyes. Remus sighed as they looked absolutely uninterested in the prospect of studying. 

"Moony, we know all that garbage in the book. You could ask us right now and we would pass with flying colors.", James said bored as his eyes drooped. 

"But, you must Study!", Remus said, stressed.

"No, I must not.", Sirius said defiantly.

"You Must!", Remus said with force.

"Would you like to eat some chocolate with me instead of studying this crap that you already know?", Sirius said with a sly smile as he took out Remus's favorite chocolate. Remus immediately felt his defenses going down. Oh who was he kidding? These three would pass without lifting a book.

"Yes, please.",* Remus said excitedly as he placed his book in his bag. The Marauders smiled. Chocolates were his Achilles' heel.

"Well, I am off to bed.", Lily said as she yawned.

"Tired?", James asked her, innocently.

"No. It was just a very long day. Breaking up is tiring.", Lily said with a shrug as she started to pack her stuff.

James face lit up at that news. Nix threw her book at him and he caught it easily. He, then, doned the appropriate face as a concerned 'friend'. Sirius and Remus looked at each other and grinned. Marlene and Lily after saying goodbye left for their dorms.

"Happy night stroll, you four.", Marlene said happily and left. Lily paused as she looked outside the window with a frown but shaking her head went to her dorm. Remus frowned. What was that about? He left that to be dissected later. Right now, he needed to be in the Whooping Willow soon enough. He nodded to his pack and left the Common Room. The three will join him in three hours. The moon would rise in three hours, Nix watch was very useful for these adventures.

Remus trekked down to Hospital Wing to take the Wolfsbane potion. The potion was the latest one in the line. These potions have already been so helpful for the werewolf clan. Werewolves were able to keep steady jobs as they only had to be gone one night and can continue working rest of the time. The only issue was the internal pain that came as moon came into its full force. The pain while transforming was almost gone. He didn't even feel pain last time. He had better control over the werewolf in him too. He converted almost an hour late last time and saw Nix's eyes sparkle but she brushed it off. He wondered what was going on. He knew she was not telling him something regarding the potion but he trusted her and whatever it was, she would be doing for his benefit only. So left that alone. 

He entered the Hospital Wing and Madam Pompey took him straight to drink the potion. Remus gulped down the potion and walked out to the Whooping Willow. Once Madam Pomfrey left, he had slipped out and went towards the Marauder's meeting spot. The three of them were sitting in a circle and were eating roasted marshmallow. Remus smiled indulgently. Sirius saw him and gave him a evil smile. He paused. What were they planning now?

"A wema way, a wema way, a wema way, a wema way...", Sirius sang happily.

"No.", Remus said petulantly. They had heard this song last Christmas break and have been singing it every chance they got. These three oafs!

"In the jungle..", James sang merrily as the three started to sway happily.

"No.", Remus said in resignation. He knew it was useless to try and stop these fuckers.

"The mighty jungle...", Nix sang cheekily

"Oh come on, you too?", Remus said in exasperation to Nix, who winked at him.

"THE WEREWOLF SLEEPS TONIGHT!!",* They all sang at their loudiest, happiest voice.

"I hate you all.", Remus said deadpanned, as he fought a smile.

"We love you too.", they replied back. Remus grinned brightly and sat down. He nicked Sirius pile of Marshmallow and started to gobble them down. 

Moon rose and he waited for the conversion but feeling nothing, he relaxed. Maybe the potion was delaying the transformation. He wasn't complaining. He looked at the moon and could understand why all poets and writers drove themselves to the ground writing about moon. There was certain beauty and calmness to it that he hadn't noticed before. The sky looked better with in it. It shone and even stars disappears in its light. Why was something that was considered as one of the most peaceful and iconic symbol by world, his personal torturer? But then again, angel is devil for the devil.

He started to feel the signs of his werewolf coming to live. He signaled his friend who converted into their animagus forms still eating marshmallows. He smiled but then grimaced as his bones started to break. Well, time for another adventure. This time they were planning on seeing the north west side of the forest. He focused on that as he started to convert.

* * *

The school year was complete and it was time to start taking down one horcrux at a ged time. This year too, the four had managed to secure top positions. Next year, Nix was hoping to Merlin that it would be a bit challenging because till now the school curriculum had been absolutely dull. If not for the extra-curricular activities they were doing, Nix would have lost her mind. Gryffindor had defeated Ravenclaw in final match to win the House Cup for five years straight. They also managed to just win the House Cup. The Marauder's Map was almost complete. They were hoping that by the end of sixth year everything will be found and mapped.

She had visited Room of Requirement and found it to be immensely helpful and amazing. She wondered if all founders had created their own little sanctuaries for their house children. Salazar Slytherin had the Chamber of Secret, which she needs to visit soon enough, Rowena Ravenclaw had created Room of requirement, Helga Hufflepuff and Godric Gryffindor..she was sure they must have build something as well. The Marauders have made it a mission to find those places in the Hogwarts. Remus was sure that Hufflepuff would make something outside, hence their systematic search of forest as nightly adventure. Gryffindor must be someplace high or dangerous. Gryffindor courage and all. It was exciting. 

Her talks with Diary Voldemort has yielded results. She has been able to find exact location of the cave, which G3 has verified is the place. But they were leaving the Cave for Christmas break as the Horcrux was most recent one, Voldemort maybe able to feel any harm to it. That would not be beneficial. They were still trying to locate Nagini. She was not slytherin' with Voldemort. G3 thinks he has told her to stay close but out of line of others. That one was a pickle. They have decided to go for the Hufflepuff Cup and Slytherin ring, this summer. But to get the Cup in the Gringotts vault in one of the most  secure vaults would be difficult. But G3 had a plan and she was recruiting the last person for the quest.  

 

"Would you like to break in Gringotts Vault?", Nix asked a stumped James. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *- credit to original writers


	45. Allure

Grindelwald was grinning. He can't remember the last time he has grinned so much. The fresh air and the changes in the wizarding world was refreshing to see. He and James were following Al and Nix behind the Goblin in the Gringotts. They were both incognito. They were under James's invisibility cloak. It was a surreal experience. The clock had never been a priority for them when they were hunting the Hallows but it was an extremely intricate piece of magic. He could feel the light material and the immense magic pulsing through the clock. He was sure that the clock had very complicated and ancient protection and concealing spells bond to Potter's family. It was amazing how much the cloak would do to protect its owner. He didn't think that James understood but the cloak hid the noise of the owner's breath and walk as well. Unless the owner wanted no one would know that a person was standing there. It was fascinating. 

They entered Al's family vault which was in the deepest under the Gringoots along with the other prominent wizarding family. Just a few vaults down was the Potter's vault and the below them was the Black's Vaults. Purebloods vaults have been protected since he can remember. He looked around and was impressed with how much the vault has grown in size and in monetary value since he last saw. Well, of course it has. This was Albus Dumbledore's vault after all. 

Al casually walked and grabbed his family tiara and his mother's precious necklace. He was sure it was for Nix's betrothal announcement in the Yule Ball this summer. He looked at Nix with sadness. It was sad that he would never be able to have that time with her again. It was gone. His little granddaughter was all grown up and going to be married soon. He sighed as he saw James stuff the invisibility cloak inside and drink the polyjuice potion. James converted into Al and Grindelwald laughed as James's clothes teared up being too tight for such a long body and fit body. It's been a long time since he saw Al like this. Well....he shook his head. The body maybe Al's but the person was James and it was just wrong. 

"Merlin! I didn't plan this in.", James muffled as he struggled to remove his clothes off. Nix had turned her back and had her eyes tightly closed.

"Would you hurry up? I really don't want to see G3 like that?", Nix muttered back to James.

"I didn't even think that. Gross! I really love you G3 but I didn't what to know about you this much.", James said as Al chuckled and swooshing his wand made James clothes identical to his.

James breathed in deeply and flexed. There was a plain mirror, which Grindelwald knew belonged to Al's mother. There was another old mirror there with curious gold writing of _'erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi’._ He looked at the writing for a while when it hit him that it had to be backwards to make sense. ' _I show not your face but your heart's desire'._ That was deep and weirdly unsettling. Why did Al have a mirror as such? He saw Nix look at the Mirror and frown. James was busy flexing his muscles and looking at himself in Al's mother's mirror. 

"Although I have to say, the world from this height looks very different. Wohoo! I am tall and fashionable. I didn't know you have muscles G3. No wonder I can never win against you in a race.", James said happily as he hopped from place to place in the vault. 

Nix waved her hand and James shoes converted into the roller skater shoes.

Nix smiled and motioned James to go. Al and he disillusioned themselves as 'Albus' and Nix walked out of the vault with the Globlon leaving them there. They were waiting for Lestrange to come check his wealth. Lestrange liked doing that. It appeased his ego. 

They both stood in silence as they waited for their bait. Albus was checking his mirror every few seconds. Grindelwald knew that Al was worried about the kids and whether they made it back safely. He wasn't worried. His great-grandchildren were very intelligent and resourceful, they would handle any or all difficulties. Grindelwald's main issue was that he had to control his urge to kiss his man like there was no tomorrow. It wasn't helping that Al was hot and mindbogglingly intelligent. Al's mind was something else entirely. He could see and understand things that people would never understand in their lifetime. He was able to predict exact situations and reactions and their aftermath so precisely that it was awe-inspiring. And Grindelwald was currently wishing that he could push Al against the wall and take him. He wondered if Al still made same noises or did that thing with his....

"Stop.", Al said softly. Grindelwald looked around in alarm if he missed something but he saw nothing and nobody. So he looked back at Al in confusion.

"Stop thinking about me like that. We are here to help my great granddaughter. I need your help to keep her alive and I need you to focus on the task. I will not have her tortured or in pain anymore than she has already endured. So please stop.", Al said calmly even if his voice quivered.

Grindelwald looked dumbfounded at Al. Did he think he wanted Nix in pain? Did he think that he would want Nix to die? Did he really think so low of him? His bodily reaction to Al has never been something he could control, but to think that he would put his lust for Al over his family's welfare was insulting.

"Do you really think I want that? That I want Nix to suffer? Al, she and James are the only people in our family who haven't looked at me with distrust or hatred. They love me unconditionally and I love them unconditionally too. I know that you think I am some thirsty power-hungry dark wizard and I am, but not at cost of my family. If it wasn't for the horcruxes, I would have myself marched and killed that fool for putting Nix through so much. Don't think for a second that I won't do that now, once all this horcrux stuff is finished. He tries anything with my family and I will murder him with pleasure. For you to think otherwise is insulting to say the least.", Grindelwald hissed.

Al looked at him with his piercing blue eyes which seemed to be looking into his heart and nodded. Grindelwald breathed in relief. He wasn't kidding when he said that he would kill Voldemort. The moment that bastard tries anything with his family, he will die. The prison, he and Al knew, wouldn't hold him if wanted to escape. It was his choice to stay there after almost being responsible for death of their child and his promise to his soulmate that he would stay put in the jail. Else keeping him prisoner alive was a task that no one would be able to keep. They hadn't been able to do that for years before, they won't have been able to do so now. But he understood that his plans may not be in best interest of the world as he used to think.

There was a trolley cart that came whizzing by. Lestrange got out and started to strut towards his vault with aristocratic pride and sneer. The Goblin opened the vault and stood outside as Lestrange entered his vault. Those two did as well. Al spotted the Hufflepuff Cup instantly. Grindelwald put Lestrange under a trance spell. Al, meanwhile, has taken out a broom from his robe like it was a handkerchief, and flew towards the Cup. He muttered the Friendfyre spell and the sound of Voldemort's dying spirit echoed in the chamber. Al cleaned the Cup of bloody evidence and flew down. Instead of stopping the Friendfyre, he made it travel around the vault engulfing and finishing a lot of dark objects. Once satisfied, Al extinguished the spell. Grindelwald removed the charm on Lestrange. 

After a few moments, Lestrange took a bracelet which used to have dark magic using his wand in it and placed it in a box. He left the vault with Al and Grindelwald following behind. They sat down in the trolley first and waited for Goblin and Lestrange to sit in front. The trolley took them to the exit. The moment they were outside, Al grabbed his hand and apparated them away. His pulse picked up with just Al's touch but he controlled himself. This was not the time. Al left him in his prison and apparated away. Grindelwald sighed. This was a start if nothing else. He gently brushed his hand where Al had grabbed it. It was a start.

* * *

The Yule Ball had been interesting to say the least. It was as boring as Sirius and James have complained for years to her but it was interesting too. The girls looked ready to kill her and according to Sirius, the guys was ready to murder him on spot when there betrothal was announced. She felt extremely pleased by how proud Sirius sounded at it. She could relate to that. Despite trying very hard to not be jealous of the hordes of girls fawning over him, Nix couldn't help but feel jealous of those girls. Sirius was clearly hers and despite the truth, girls kept trying to woo him. The jealously and need to make Sirius for once and all was increasing rapidly. Nix knew that meant that her bond was close to completion with Sirius. Nix felt giddy at that. If that was true then she knew the perfect gift for Sirius. She wondered if it would be as amazing as she has read in few naughty books or if..

The door of her room opened and her twin entered. There was a spring in his steps and he looked oddly pleased with himself. She looked at him, amused. She knew why he looked so satisfied and happy. Her brother has just had sex for the very first time and looked to be in trance of it. She could feel his happiness and grinned at him, who grinned back at her lazily. He collapsed on the bed next to her and closed his eyes. They both settled in a comfortable silence.

"It was great.", James said after a while.

Nix hummed. She waited for him to say more.

"You know you keep thinking it would be like or that but it is really different in experience. Its ...I can't explain it but it feels amazing.", James said softly. Nix smiled at James.

"So I have started to date Kendara. We will date till this summer when she leaves for France again.", James mumbled as he drifted off to sleep. Nix chuckled. James opened his eyes and looked at her curiously.

"Lily.", Nix said simply. James sighed.

"Not you too.", James grumbled.

"I am genuinely curious. You could  love her almost as much as you love me.", Nix said as James looked at her incredulously.

"That can never happen, Buttercup. No one can come close to how much I love you.", James said strongly.

"I know that. But you can love someone as much as me or more than me in a different way. I am just curious why you are delaying it?", Nix asked James curiously.

"Because the day I get together with her it will be it.", James said confidently.

"Isn't that what you want?", Nix asked confused

"Eventually. But we both are still so young. What is the point of being together forever when I and she both can have a little fun before that.", James said with a yawn.

"Do all boys think like that?", Nix asked curiously.

"Yeah. We all have fantasies that we want to fulfill before we settle down. It's same for all boys. We all want the one but when we are ready for it.", James muttered as he got closer to sleep.

Nix got worried. Was that true? Jamie had no reason to lie to her. He has always been upfront to her about things. Did this mean that Sirius was squashing his fantasies because of her and their bond? Did this mean that Sirius had no chance to even act on his fantasies because they have been together practically since they started Hogwarts. She didn't want him to quash any of his wishes because of her. His mother had seen that his most wishes are squashed as it is.  What if..?

James muttered sleepily,"Stop worrying about Sirius. He has been ready since he saw you, Nix. You are in all his fantasies."

Nix perked up and looked at James siriusly. She might be his soulmate but James knew Sirius better than anyone and if he is saying this then maybe she should stick to her original plan of his gift for Sirius's birthday. James chuckled.

"Come on sleep. This day has been tiring enough as it is.", James muttered and Nix agreed. She grinned and slept.  

* * *

"Mr Black, what is the main point that has to be remembered while transfiguring a snail?", asked an irate Professor McGonagall to absent-minded Sirius. Since this year had started the Professors had been focused only on revising the past course. The new syllabus was hardly any and the Marauders already knew the crap, so this gave them time to plan their pranks, sleep in the class or just chat. 

"The exact picture of what we want the snail to be.", Sirius replied off-handed. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips but continued her lecture as Sirius continued to stare at Nix.

"Is there a reason you are staring at Nix so intently since the lesson began?", Remus asked softly as he continued to take notes of a spell they had mastered by the time they were in second year. 

"She is avoiding me.", Sirius said still analysing Nix, who was busy converting Bloom's snail into different objects without her wand. Bloom was getting freaked by the second as it seemed like no one from Slytherin could see what was happening. Remus bit his laughter as Nix converted the snail into dung.

"How is she ignoring you? You were snogging just minutes before the class. And if you are talking about her sitting next to girls instead of us then she does that from time to time.", James said bored as he covertly stared at Lily. 

"She was restricting herself!", Sirius pointed out.

"Well you were in public and one of you have to be responsible one or we will all kill you due to excessive PDA!", Remus replied back dryly. Sirius shook his head.

"You don't think she is breaking up with me, do you?", Sirius asked anxiously. James burst out laughing and collapsed on the floor laughing. Sirius looked appeased by the reaction, even if Professor McGonagall took points off James.

"You are kidding right? Why in the Merlin's pants name would my sister break up with you?", James asked Sirius with a smile, even if his eyes were troubled.

"I don't know. The bond is strong at the moment and it calls out to her. But she is stopping herself. She hasn't done that ever. Never blatantly stopped our bond. In the beginning it was more of the fact that we both knew she won't say till the amulet shit cleared up but this is different.", Sirius said seriously.

"Why don't you just ask her?", Remus suggested sanely, like this poor boy was cursed with sanity but he had a point. Just then class ended. Sirius rushed forward and caught up to Nix who was laughing at something Austin has said. Anger flared inside Sirius. He grabbed Nix and took her to one of the nooks they had discovered.

"Sirius what...?", Nix question was captured by Sirius in a simmering kiss which saw her been pushed up against the wall as his hands on their own reached her centre. They lightly rubbed her centre that was steadily getting wetter. He increased his intensity of kissing her as his fingers slowly rubbed her there. Nix was withering and moaning. Nix pulled away from the kiss and Sirius started to kiss her neck roughly.

"Sirius wha ... _oh Merlin_...what is it?", Nix gasped out as Sirius slowly inserted one finger in her wet vagina through her robes. The hotness of the vagina was the first thing he noticed. The second was Nix's stiffening slightly. That brought back to reality and he pulled his wet fingers out. He really wanted to taste her but right now he needed to talk to her.

"Nothing, just reminding my amazing fiance that I love her a lot.", Sirius said softly as he placed her down. He winced as he saw a small bruise forming on her neck. He murmured healing spell and it healed. Well, at least, practicing without wand was paying.

Nix looked at him curiously as she placed his arms around her and jumped on him. He easily caught and held her around his waist, his hard on was brushing against her beautiful arse. He licked his lips as he looked into her blazing emerald eyes.

"Sirius?", Nix asked sultry. His dick twitched in response.

"Nothing I thought you were ignoring me so I wanted to talk to you about it. Except I saw Austin flirt with you and lost my shit.", Sirius explained sheepishly. He tightened his hand as Nix rotated her hips slightly.

Nix bent down and kissed him sweetly and softly. They kissed like this for a while. His hand were massaging her arse and other was buried in her hair, keeping her there.

"I know that the bond pull is strong but I am not ready for umm...the down action yet. ", Nix started to explain.

"Hey, no that's not what I meant! I shit...I didn't mean that Nix. I can't control it. I see you and I want to devour you.", Sirius tried to explain his helplessly in this matter.

Nix's legs tightened around him and she pulled his closer. He could see the want in her eyes. He was really on the edge of his control and Nix in such a position was not helping him either. He wanted to make her scream. He wanted to buried in her so deep that that's all she would feel. He wanted to taste her sweet nectar. He wanted her. His bond's call is getting stronger and harder to ignore as he nears his birthday. Wait, oh...that's what she is waiting for. He looked at her in understanding and she blushed. He decided not to tell her he figured out her birthday surprise. He wondered what he could give her for her birthday. But he calmed down, now that he understood. He lowered Nix down again and kissed her. They left for the classes. Sirius smiled happily at James and Remus. James rolled his eyes and continued talking with Lily. Remus looked at Sirius and grinned widely. James denial was getting hilarious. Well, he could have some fun at his expense.

"Hey Lily love. I have heard you met Andrea Anthony in some corridor or was it perfect bathroom, I am a little hazy on details?", Sirius asked Lily teasingly. Lily blushed as she mock glared at Sirius. James face changed and he looked jealous.

"It was in the prefect bathroom. I still have to figure out where you get all the gossip from?", Lily said happily. 

"Well looks like something went all right in there.", Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at her.

James muttered angrily and then stomped inside the class. He went and sat next to Mila Geller, one of the hottest girls in the school after Nix and Lily. He started to chat up with her and Sirius could see that the girl was already falling for him. Since his summer romance with Kendara, James had been on a sphere. He has slept with many girls and Nix was worried about his behaviour. Sirius had assured her that it was all a phase and will pass soon. Lily looked angry and upset at James's actions. Sirius sighed. This will be a long year.

"You don't think it's the rut season, do you?", Remus muttered to Sirius. James gave him a converted glare. 

"Na, it's the rut of brain.", Sirius answered gravely. James showed him a finger and went back to chatting up Mila. Lily pressed her lips as her eyes hardened watching James snog Mila in the class.


	46. bonded for life

" So how wild was your sex last night to have that many hickeys?", Sirius asked James.

James was walking with his neck and collarbone covered in hickeys of different sizes. James phase of wild sex was increasing exponentially. It was starting to bother him as well now. James hardly spent a night in their dorm. He was usually in someone's else's now. Lily, on the other hand, was becoming colder and more distant from James which made James more reckless. All in all it was going great.

"It was great.", James said smugly. Sirius sighed. He just really didn't understand why James was trying to destroy his chance at happiness like this. Lily's opinion about James was detoriating by the day and it's didn't seem to register on James's radar.

"You know it won't be bad if you want to have other experiences before you bond with my sister. It really is something else.", James told him with a small grin.

Sirius looked at him incredulously at James. He did not just say that! When has Sirius ever shown any interest in any girl, other than James's sister? Why the hell would he even say something like this?

"You are kidding, right? You know that I am not interested in any woman, girl or men other than your sister. She is all I can think about. Why the fuck would you even ask me something like this?", Sirius asked him annoyed 

"Nothing just making sure." James said causally but there was a catch in his voice.

"Wait..does she think I want to be with other girls?", Sirius asked James anxiously. That would explain her questions about his wishes and fantasies, the other night.

"She is just worried that because of the bond you had to squash some of your fantasies. I tried to make her understand that was not the case, even if I was acting like a horny rabbit, you didn't want anyone but her.", James explained. Sirius felt furious with himself. Why was she doubting him? Maybe he shouldn't hide his want for her so much.

"So you are not worried about what you told me the other day?", James asked Sirius seriously.

Sirius has gone to James to ask what he does with the girls to make them go crazy, down there. Nix has completely refused to let him come near her intimates. He just couldn't understand why. He got that she was going to surprise him on his birthday but they can do other things meanwhile. She has not agreed one bit.

"The best advice I can give is talk to her. ", James told him. Sirius nodded. He was planning on doing that today.

"Here you go. Happy advanced birthday mate. We will see you tomorrow. Please be gentle.", James asked him. Sirius nodded. He was still troubled by James revelation.

He knocked and Nix opened the door. She was wearing an exquisite red top with designer back and deep neck with a mini black skirt and high heels which made her legs look sinful. Sirius felt his breathe knock out of him. She was stunning and beautiful and completely his. He was forever grateful to whoever was up there for choosing him for her.

Nix smiled brightly and brought him inside the Room of Requirement. There on the center was a cosy sitting area with food and drinks places around it and a movie threater was placed. He grinned at her as he took in the room..it was nice and sweet. Their private picnic. Nix stood on her toes and kissed him. He pulled her close and deepened the kiss, making her moan and her knees weaker. Nix pulled back as things started to get interesting and took him to the sitting area.

"I figured we could watch movie. I was planning on going for a ride on the broomsticks but after the last quidditch match, I decided against it.", Nix explained as she started a movie and cozied up to him 

Last quidditch match had been brutal. There were so many fouls and injuries. Mary was still recovering from hers in the infirmary. The movie was a good action movie but he was more interested in the girl sitting beside him. He started to pepper her neck with small kisses. He felt her breathing increase as he moved up her neck and took her earlobe in his and sucked. Nix gasped.

"I want you.", Sirius voice was so heavy and husky that he didn't recognize it as his.

Nix looked at him and bit her lips as her eyes darkened. Sirius snogged her roughly and devoured her. His hands started to explore her body's contours slowly, teasingly. She moaned and Sirius's hand started to form slow circles on her inner thigh. Nix stiffened and he stopped. He looked at her in question. She looked nervous as she kept wringling her hands as she spoke,

"Prongs told me that you were concerned that you were doing something wrong, because I won't let you, umm.., pleasure me." She turned bright shade of pink.

She looked so adorable that he wanted to kiss her till next year. But he restrained himself, he  _was_ worried about that. He didn't understand why she won't let him pleasure her. That's all he ever wanted. He looked at her in 'siriusness' and patience. 

"You didn't do anything wrong Sirius. I just....ahem..I wanted to tell you that you could try out with other girls if you want. I would wait for you.."

Sirius cut her off,"That is  _not_ the reason and you know it. Buttercup, tell me the truth, please." he begged at the end.

"Sirius, I..Do you really want to bond with _me_? I have a very dangerous future. You know I am going after Voldemort. Sooner or later, he would start targeting me. I don't want you to be caught in crossfire or be miserable for rest of your life. I want you to be happy and well."

"Nix, don't be ridiculous. You are the only one for me. I don't even think of any other girl. I can't. You are  _it._ As for it being dangerous, I don't care. I would still stand by you, even if we are not bonded. I am not leaving you for anything. So that is moot. But, I don't understand, why won't you let me pleasure you? You pleasure me all the time!" Sirius asked her in hurt confusion. 

"Sirius, you are too sexy and good at what you do. (She turned a delicate shade of pink at that. Sirius's self-control was really tested right now.) I can't ...ahem..ahem...won't be able to control myself when ,uhh.., that happens. You are the  _only_ person I would even consider having any sort of relation with.(Sirius felt delighted, but he was still confused). But are you sure, you want  _me_  to be the only one you are ever with _?_  You know, you won't be able to be with another woman or man, no judgement here, after we bond. I don't want you to curb any of your desires. If you want to experiment with other people, you can and I would wait."

Sirius just growled and grabbing her, gave her a hard kiss. "I  _love_ _you._ Do you understand? If you want to wait, I would wait. But I am definitely not going to be with other women or men! I know once we bond we can only be with each other. I  _want_ that. To be yours. And you to be mine! I get that we would essentially be married at 16 years, but I don't care. You are the one I would marry, anyways. To answer your question, I want you and I, most definitely, want to be married to you. When is your decision." Sirius gave her a gentle, slow kiss that he knew made her toes curl.

Nix still looked worried. Sirius asked her solemnly," Do you want to experiment with someone else? Is this why you have been worried? If you, I...(Sirius swallowed. For her, he could do this) ..I would understand. Bonding with me is a lifelong commitment. I understand if you want to have 'fun' before settling. I promise anyone that makes you happy, would be remain unharmed by me. You can experiment, if you want. I will wait for you, no issue." 

He meant what he said. Anyone who makes her happy is automatically out of his hit list (except for Boo, _that guy..ugh...)_. But, he could feel a rage building in him. For her, he would do this , even when every nerve in his body wanted to murder whoever has caught her eyes. He would love to tear limb for limb of the guy who she wanted. There was no doubt in his mind that whoever that guy was would want her. She was amazing, beautiful and hot as hell. He has seen several boys leering at her. He needed to control the grim, who was growling now. If Nix wanted this and this is what she would have. Ultimately, he would be the one she ends up with. So, anyone in middle shouldn't be an issue. Try telling grim that.

Nix snorted and shook her head. "No, you big dummy. I don't want anyone else. I was just...Well, I hear all the girls talk about guys. How no guy wants to be with only one woman; they want to have wild days before they settled down. How every guy has these fantasies of other woman...I even asked Prongs and Moony, if it was true. They agreed to it to a certain extend. So I was worried that you were curbing your natural instincts because of our bond. You never had a chance to see if you want something else. We have been together practically since first year. So, I wanted to give you an option." Nix shrugged as she explained.

Sirius looked incredulously at Nix; tilting her head up towards him, he said softly, while gazing with love brimming from his eyes," It is true that guys experiment till they find the one. Except, I never needed to experiment because I already have found you. Even if there was no bond,  _A Chroí,_  I am 100% sure that I would have fallen hard for you. It would have taken time for me to gather courage to ask you out. But it was always going to be you. I understand, if you have reservations about bonding with me. I don't mind waiting. Okay? I love you, you beautiful, amazing person."

Nix eyes lit up and her smile knocked his breath away. Nix then said, a bit excitedly and nervously, "Wait, here! I have a gift that I need to give you."

"The gift you were nervous about?", Sirius asked with the smile he knew made her dazed. She smiled coyly and bit her lips in the way that made him mad for her. He moved closer to her and kissed her. She pulled away after a while, just when the things had started to get interesting again. He pouted. She pecked him with a smile. Her eyes had a glint which he hasn't seen yet but it made his throat dry and blood rush south. He looked at her entranced.

"Yeah, I just need to get it ready. Here you can look through the scrapbook Prongs and I gave you in first year." She left saying that. He kept looking at her till she vanished into adjoining room. He sighed and opened the album.

He smiled as he saw pictures from their first slumber party to the third year. He paused as he saw the picture of the meadow. The passionate manner in which they were in the lake. His eyes trailed her body and he got lost in the memories of her moans, kisses and taste of her. He stared at the one where he was shirtless on top of her and he was licking, biting and essentially ravishing her neck. It was the look of pleasure on her face that made him rivet to it.

He groaned. Merlin's pants, he was rock hard just looking at this picture. He needed to control himself. After all the talk about waiting for her. He didn't want to pressure her. If she wanted to wait, he would freaking wait, only if his prick got the bloody message. _Think of something unappealing. Ah, Mother!_ Yup his boner was done. Works like a charm every time. Although it was annoying that his brother had to teach him that. It was getting embarrassing how many times he had a boner in polite company by just being near Nix. Maybe that's why Nix was nervous. If he was horny now, afterwards he won't let her leave the bed only. She wasn't far off in her assessment of that situation.

Before he could turn the page to another one, Nix called him from inside the second room. He walked in and paused. There was a huge king sized bed in the middle. The lights were romantic; there was scented aroma in the air; and there was condom on the side stool. Sirius hardly noticed anything because his eyes were focused on Nix.

She was standing in front of the huge bed wearing a very short red colored bath gown. Her hair was open; she had removed her make-up; he could see a bit of her cleavage. She looked absolutely stunning. Sirius wondered if she was wearing anything underneath that sinfully short robes. His eyes traveled up and down her body before he could stop himself. His eyes focused on her long toned legs for a while then the cleavage. He knew how amazing those boobs were. He licked his lips and looked in her eyes. She had a challenging glint in her eyes. He could feel his boner coming to life again. But, she looked a bit nervous, so he waited at the door with baited breath. 

"I thought a lot about what to give you. The evening doing romantic stuff was a nice gift but I wanted it to be special. It is your 16th birthday! You are right, we are too young to be married but honestly, I don't care either. I just wanted to be sure that you weren't squashing any of your err...fantasies because of me. Ahem.... your last present is actually me. Not me, me but me as in ...."

Sirius walked fast towards her, cradled her face gently in his hand and looked at Nix,"Are you sure? We would probably be bonded. We can wait, if you want."

Nix kissed him slowly but passionately. He moaned into the kiss. His hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer." I have been waiting for long time now. I am your present, Mr Black. Are you planning on unwrapping it?", Nix said in a seductive tone. He didn't think she did that consciously. Fuck!

He kissed her passionately. Their tongues dueled as his hands roamed all over her clothed body. They pulled away when need for air became huge. He showered her with open mouthed kisses along her jaw, neck, shoulder. He sucked in on his favorite points. Knowledge of what was finally going to happen made him extremely eager and gave each noise coming from her a new meaning. She would be his and he would finally be her's. She was mewling and moaning his name. He wanted to hear it again and again. 

He looked at her and silently asked for permission. She nodded, a bit shyly. Damn, she was adorable yet sexy at the same time. He opened her robe to find her wearing nothing underneath it. He stopped breathing. His mouth opened in a pop; his eyes were roaming up and down trying to take everything in at once; his pants were uncomfortably tight. He drank in her amazing body open just for his eyes. His eyes traveled from her collarbones, to her breasts, to her toned stomach, to her hipbones, to her honeypot, to her toned legs and came back again to her eyes.

He thinks he was drooling. She looked nervous while waiting for his reaction. He kissed her desperately and grabbing her thighs, lifted her. She wrapped her gorgeous legs around his waist. He was touching her without a cloth covering her body. He marveled at the feel of her soft skin, roundness of the ass and the fact that he had a naked Nix in his arms after years of dreaming about it. 

"Beautiful, absolutely beautiful." He said in a very husky voice and he felt the shiver pass through her spine as her eyes became darker and darker. He gently lowered her on the bed. He was going to join her in the bed, when she sat on her knees and gently rested her hand on his chest. He looked at her in intrigue.

She smiled wickedly and said, "I always wanted to try something." He held still and nodded to let her do what she wanted. She straightened a bit till she was eye to eye with him and then grabbed his helm of shirt with both hands. With a push, she ripped open his shirt. All the buttons of his shirt flew everywhere and she traced her hand slowly across his chest. His muscles contracted and rippled everywhere. 

"Yup, it was worthy of a fantasy.", Nix said softly. Her aroused voice along with everything else made him crazy. He pulled her for a snog. One hand was buried in her hair and the other was on her naked back. He pulled back and discarded his shirt and proceeded to remove all his clothes. Nix sat back on her hips in a sexy pose as she took his naked form in. She knew his body like a master, he wanted to master hers as well. He placed one knee on the bed and then moved towards her, in what he hoped was like a lithe leopard instead of awkward clumsy arse. 

He grabbed her ankles and pulled her towards him. Her bare chest was pressing against his naked skin; he wrapped his arm around her; placing his hand on her arse, he pushed her closer. There lower bodies touched each other for the first time and he groaned at the feeling. He needed to control himself or it would end sooner than later. He wanted to last for as long as possible. This was it. This is what his life has been moving towards since he collided with them that fateful day in the Diagon Alley. He was finally going to make love to his soulmate and maybe bond. He bend down to kiss her and got lost in her. 

* * *

Sirius's kissing should be made illegal. It was so... _Merlin!_ He was a bloody tsunami. She couldn't think of anything, when he was like this. And right now her brain was deep fried by the hotness that was her fiancee. His well defined abs and v-cut that lead to his crown, had her salivating. Since, it was his birthday, she should be the one doing the work. But he had different plans. He was kissing her on neck and shoulder, in way that it made her see stars. But he wasn't hurried like she thought he would be. He was licking, kissing and sucking every spot on her body, like he had days and years to just pleasure her. That thought sent a wave of pleasure through her. They would be doing this for years to come.  

She had heard from other girls, who have gone down this lane, that boys were very hurried and fast during their first time. Apparently with time, it became amazing for them too, but during first time it was usually about a guy's pleasure. This looked the opposite. He was...coiling something in her belly like a expert with an unhurried pace. When he reached her nipples, he paused in front of it for few seconds, blowing on it, making her squirm in anticipation; and then he lunged forwards and took the nipples in his mouth and sucked; while at the same time his other hand pinched her other nipple. She arched away from the bed with his name as a prayer. 

He started to suck and massage her breasts alternatively. At times he would bite lightly on one of the breasts and kiss it better. The coil in her stomach was getting tenser and she could smell herself. She was sure that if she could, Sirius definitely could. He came up leaving a trail of bite marks and snogged her roughly as his leg slotted between her legs, right where apparently she needed it. Her body was not in her control and she was rubbing furiously against his leg. He broke the kiss and looked at with a smile. She smiled too and traced his outline of his face, gently.

Her hands reached his hair and she scratched lightly and his leg pressed harder against her clit. He bend down to start sucking behind her ears. She was in heaven and she was so thankful that he was born. Then, she remembered that it was his birthday.

"Sirius .. _ah.._ let me.. _oh yes..._ do the pleasuring...(Sirius growled and started sucking harder). Its your birthday.. _oh dear lord...._ Let me..." Sirius snogged her.

He pulled back and said sweetly but decisively, "You are my gift. I want to enjoy my gift. So I am going to do the work because I have been deprived of this for over a year. And _A Chroí_ , your pleasure is mine." Saying this he kissed her sensually which had her moaning. 

He licked, sucked and kissed his way down to her stomach. He paid special attention to her hip bone, which had her groaning and moaning. Then he stopped. Nix opened her to see what was happening. She breathed in sharply as she looked at Sirius, whose face was right in front of her vagina, was grinning wickedly. He sniffed and his eyes became clouded. 

He held her eyes as he licked her slit. She sucked in a breath and bit back a moan as she felt his slightly rough tongue lick her again. He grinned and kissed her clit and her hips buckled. Then, Sirius, without a warning, latched onto her clit and started to suck and lick it like a madman. Nix hips buckled like crazy, but Sirius placed an arm on it to stop it from buckling; her moans and scream of pleasure were ringing across the room. Merlin! Why had she stopped him from doing this before? What the hell was wrong with her to stop him? This... _son of a bitch.._ was he .... _oh Merlin!_...

She felt his finger lightly trace her passage. He entered one finger tentatively as he slowed down his mad administrations on her clit. Her arse was riding his finger with abandon. He entered a second finger and then a third. He started to pump his finger vigorously as she increased her hips speed. She was chanting his name as prayer and then he started to lick her clit while pumping his finger. She lost all her ability to understand what she was saying. All she could feel was a heat flooding her body and her muscles were getting tenser and tenser. Then Sirius sucked her clit hard as he curled his finger. She exploded. She saw stars as she arched in pleasure and she felt her body become a puddle.

It took her a while to even get energy to open her eyes. Still breathing hard, she opened her eyes to  look directly into Sirius's. He was looking at her with a soft look. He had an extremely pleased and satisfied look on his face. She raised her eyebrow in question. She still hadn't found energy to speak yet. 

He smiled smugly and said,"You regret not letting me do that a lot earlier, don't you?". Nix snorted at being thrown her question back at her and smiled. He bend down to kiss her. They kissed for a while and then she rolled him on his back and straddled him. He looked at her in surprise. 

"Hey! I said I was doing the pleasuring!", Sirius said 'siriusly', even if he jerking hip gave him away.

She looked at him amused and bend down and kissed him. She flicked her tongue and then sucked his lower lip between hers. When she gently bit on it, he jerked and rolled them over. He swallowed her 'hey' with a kiss that made her forget what she was protesting in the first place. He entered his fingers inside her again and slowly started to pump her. Her hips were buckling as they continued to slowly explore each other's mouth with their tongues. He, then, at same unhurried pace, started to suck her breasts. 

" _Mi cielo_? Are you planning on using your 'wand', instead of your fingers?", Nix asked him in humor. This was all great but she really wanted him in her. 

Sirius replied, solemnly, "You sure? Because even this much is enough for me, for now. We can wait. Our magic would bond and then..." 

Nix captured his mouth in an intense kiss. "Bloody hell, Sirius. I can't wait to bond with you. I was ...being an idiot.. now can you please just get in me already. I want you inside me. Okay? I want to feel you. I want to be reminded of you next morning, when I can't walk because you have marked in the best way possible. And I really, really want to be yours."

Sirius solemn look turned more turned on as she proceeded to speak. He growled by the end of her speech and spread her legs apart. Nix looked at him in happiness, which he returned. He took his penis in his hand and squeezed the top a bit. Nix licked her lips and she made to move to suck it, Sirius stopped her,"No, I won't last if you do that, and I want to last."

Nix nodded and laid down, spreading her legs as far as it would go. Sirius positioned himself and covered her body with his. She never felt so safe or loved. Sirius looked intensely at her and started to tease her opening with his head. 

"I am sorry,  _A chroí_ , it will hurt in the begin. But I have heard that if you relax, it would get better. Okay, _A chroí_  , just relax and let me in.", Sirius said soothingly as he began to kiss and lick her neck, while he pushed inside her. She felt a bit uncomfortable as he slowly, tentatively entered her. She felt her body stretch to accommodate him, it was weird and painful experience. He stopped when he reached her barrier. He looked at her and she nodded. She braced herself on his flexing muscular arms. He slowly pulled out and then pushed hard in one go.

Nix screamed in pain he teared her open. Tears started to drip down her eyes. Sirius was kissing them away. She opened her eyes and saw that Sirius was really controlling himself. His flexed muscles were stretched and flexing as if his was stopping his instinct of moving. She breathed through her mouth as she the pain receded and she felt him inside her. He was pulsating inside her body. His rock hard penis filled her in ways she never thought she needed. But it was amazing.   

"Fuck...you are so tight,  _A chroí_  . Bloody hell! This feel amazing. You feel so amazing."

She rocked her hips experimentally and Sirius bit her skin from jerking her. She didn't feel pain, only pleasure.

She said panting,"Move,  _Mi Cielo._ I am fine now, move. Come on!"

Sirius slowly pulled out and pushed back in. Her hips were in rhythm with his. She wanted more. She said,"Come on, harder Sirius."

"You will be sore tomorrow, Nix. I don't want you in pain.", Sirius said as he panted and gasped in middle.

"Sirius, I will take the bloody healing potion if I have to, now move.", Nix demanded. Sirius still looked unconvinced as his pace increased a bit but she knew it was nowhere close to where he could go. 

" _Mi Cielo,_ come on make me yours. I need you to move harder. Go with your instinct. You won't hurt me. We are soulmates after all.", Nix said pleadingly to Sirius, who seem to agree with her thoughts because the next push was hard and her eyes rolled up at the pleasure that shot through her. 

Sirius gave a small smile but let loose. He was pushing so hard in her that she was seeing stars with every push inside her. He pushed hard into her as he captured her breasts in his mouth and sucked it hard too. She was lost in the world of pleasure as her muscles got tighter and tighter. 

"Come for me  _A chroí_  . Come for me. I need ...to..fuck..see you come. Come on!", Sirius told her as he pushed particular hard inside her as he rubbed her already abused clit roughly. Her nerves were tight as it were and they exploded. She clinched her arse muscles tightly as orgasm took over her. Sirius came into her with a groan and fell on top of her. It felt so weird to have his juices spread inside her. Filling her in and completing something in her. She opened her eyes and gasped. 

It was beautiful. Her magic and his magic have bonded with each other. It looked like a beautiful canopy of intricate design of their magic mashing together. She sighed in satisfaction as she felt closer to the boy she loved and the man in whose arms she would, hopefully, die. She pulled him closer and kissed his hair.

"I live here now. I am not emptying this space anytime soon.", Sirius muttered tiredly. Nix chuckled. 

Sirius groaned as he moved out of her and she groaned at the feeling of loss. Sirius used his wand and cleaned them up. He pulled her close, slotting his chest to her back and fell asleep. Nix was asleep within seconds of it too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Chroí: my heart  
> Mi cielo: my heaven  
> How was it?

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my other stories on Sirius/Harry(female)- AUs
> 
> *- credit to original writers (if *is there in the chapter)


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